IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘China – Cherries – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

Chinese cherry market relies on imports, as supplies from abroad constitute 70% of total cherry consumption in China. Over the past 6 years, cherry imports into China have doubled. The country became an attractive destination for exporters, with Chilean suppliers capturing the market.

Cherry Imports into China

In 2020, cherry imports into China rose sharply to 210K tonnes, with an increase of 7.9% against 2019. In value terms, imports skyrocketed to $1.6B (IndexBox estimates) in 2020.

In 2020, Chile (195K tonnes) was the main cherry supplier to China, accounting for a 92% share of total imports. Moreover, cherry imports from Chile exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, the U.S. (8.8K tonnes), more than tenfold. From 2012 to 2020, the average annual growth rate of volume from Chile stood at +27.4%.

In value terms, Chile ($1.5B) constituted the largest supplier to China, comprising 91% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was occupied by the U.S. ($79M), with a 4.8% share of total imports.

The average cherry import price stood at $7,812 per tonne in 2020, picking up by 8.1% against the previous year. Over the period from 2012 to 2020, it increased at an average annual rate of +4.4%. Average prices varied noticeably amongst the major supplying countries. In 2020, the country with the highest price was the U.S. ($8,965 per tonne), while the price for Chile totaled $7,693 per tonne.

Source: IndexBox Platform