A panel of experts discussed the rapidly growing category at Asiafruit Congress 2024 as the China-based berry industry prepares to penetrate surrounding markets
The berry category in Asia has been expanding rapidly both in terms of consumer demand and production levels – particularly in mainland China. The sustained growth has been a key factor in the boom experienced across the global industry over the past decade, and its continued development could make way for a slew of new varieties, grown to withstand Asia’s differing climatic conditions as well as catering to the flavour profiles of Asian consumers.
These were some of the key takeaways from an Asiafruit Congress panel discussion spotlighting Asia’s berry boom at Asia Fruit Logistica in September.
“We’ve been on this journey for a decade now,” said Henk Vaandrager, general manager at blueberry breeder Fall Creek China.
“Especially in the last three to four years, we’ve seen a lot of competitors mimic how we produce berries, and I think that is an indicator of the belief in the category – people don’t just aimlessly go and invest money into things that they don’t have a belief in.”
Despite the increased competition, Vaandrager still sees significant growth potential for China and the greater Asian market.
“We still think that there’s tremendous growth opportunities in blueberries, and in other berries like raspberries or blackberries which the market hasn’t even developed,” Vaandrager said.
Michael Oates, managing director of berry producer and supplier of growing systems, Haygrove China, said blueberries should almost be seen as its own category, given the difference in development rates in China.
“The total consumption of blueberries in China is probably 25 to 30 times larger than raspberries,” he said. “Rubus is a very rapidly developing category driven by Driscoll’s, but it still has a way to go to catch up. It’s probably seven to ten years behind where blueberries are – but it’s going to get there.”
This growth potential was a key driver for Driscoll’s to enter China over a decade ago.
“We saw the opportunity,” said Jae Chun, Driscoll’s’ vice-president and general manager for China and Asia-Pacific. “To make the China market work our belief is that you want to be able to grow the berries locally, to sell and serve the consumers locally, because at the end of the day, that’s going to present the right consumer experience, specifically for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. To really capture those opportunities, it does require a significant effort and investment towards developing that local supply.”
Driscoll’s’ entry into the Yunnan region has been seen as a catalyst for much of the domestic development in the past decade, according to Chun.
“We’ve seen over the last probably five years, a very regionally-driven development in terms of domestic production,” Oates said. “In Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, we’re probably adding 3,000ha-4,000ha of substrate production annually.
“Now, if you look at the other regions perhaps the overall hectares aren’t increasing, but there is gradually a variety renewal programme or an upgrade in growing techniques.”
Oates said there has been a move towards using substrate and tunnels as well as replanting older varieties to newer breeding programmes.
“Overall, I think we’re seeing certain supply windows being filled, especially the counter-seasonal one, while the main season production is undergoing a gradual process of renewal and upgrade,” Oates said.
“The domestic industry is really trying to supply year-round blueberries,” Chun added.
While this local production has, to a large degree, improved the quality of fruit available to consumers and been integral in the development of newer varieties, it hasn’t been without its challenges.
“In China, it’s become increasingly difficult to obtain land to develop new farms,” said Vaandrager. “So, the speed of development has slowed down a bit because of that challenge.”
“In the whole of China, there’s only certain areas where you find the right microclimate that would work well for berries, because it is arguably the most climactically influenced fruit that you can farm,” added Chun. “So there really aren’t a lot of places that you can go where you’re going to get the quality and the productivity.”
This has become even more difficult post-Covid-19 where, according to Oates, there has been a strong retreat of private investment.
“Which means that acquiring land in China has increasingly become linked with government relations, and that adds a level of complexity for an investor that perhaps not every company is prepared for,” he said.
As China increases its production volumes, it is also developing its export trade which is set to support growth in surrounding countries, including those in South-East Asia.
“If you look at the populations and GDP per capita of places like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia – and even some of the smaller nations like Singapore – I think what we should expect to see, probably over the next few years, is increasing penetration starting from a more premium category, and then expanding down,” Oates said.
Vaandrager sees opportunity to build out China’s counter-seasonal supply position.
“As production in China increases, entities will look at how they can support South-East Asia in the times that South America or Africa or Australia are not able to supply there, and by giving South-East Asia year-round access to blueberries, I expect that consumption to increase,” he said.
These expansions will, of course, require continued infrastructure investment.
“There are still a lot of very, very long supply chains and very long value chains between the producer and the end consumer,” Oates said.
“Can we shorten that supply chain? Can we shorten that value chain to make sure that the customer is enjoying a delightful berry at an acceptable price? I think that’s really where the opportunity lies.”
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