Fruit demand and seed imports expose China’s supply gaps

China remains one of the world’s top fruit and vegetable producers, but in 2024, it continued to rely heavily on imports to meet demand for certain high-value fruits and vegetable seeds.

Fruit imports rose to 7.69 million tonnes in 2024, up 2.17% from the previous year, with a total value of $17.75 billion. Cherries and durians led the list. China imported 451,000 tonnes of cherries (up 23%), mainly from Chile and Japan, and 1.56 million tonnes of durians (up 9.4%) from Thailand and Malaysia.

In vegetables, China produces and exports large volumes, but is highly dependent on imported seeds. For crops like carrots, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, and eggplants, the seed import rate exceeds 90%, making local production vulnerable to supply disruptions.

Despite this, China maintained a strong vegetable trade surplus in 2024: $18.66 billion in exports against $1.05 billion in imports.

While the country is self-sufficient in quantity, its reliance on foreign fruit varieties and vegetable seeds shows a clear gap in supply chain security.

source: eurasiareview.com

photo: mocanyc.org