Avocados entering China are in for a treat, with importer-distributor Shanghai Supafresh set to open the country’s first avocado ripening centre in 2015. Situated in Shanghai near Longwu fruit and vegetable wholesale market, the facility will house five 80m2 rooms, capable of storing eight container pallets in each.
Supafresh prides itself on developing imports of avocados into China, and now sits as the number one seller of avocados online through its store, operated by e-commerce giant Alibaba’s subsidiary Tmall.
“We were the first company to import Mission avocados by seafreight, bringing in a half container and selling that over two weeks in 2012,” explained Supafresh general manager Jason Xu. “Now, we’re bringing in two to three containers every week.”
The ripening centre will be finished in mid-December with tests running until it officially opens in January. Timing couldn’t be better, with Supafresh increasing its imports to 55-60 containers in 2014 to sell through its multiple sales channels. While the majority of avocado sales are still in the wholesale markets of Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing, Supafresh has built up its presence on TV shopping channels, online and through its retail stores, which include City’Super and Shanghai First Food Mall, as well as its new chain of premium grocery stores, Wholefresh.
The Singles Day promotions on 11 November saw Supafresh’s online sales of avocados tip 25 tonnes, and sales through the Shanghai-based TV shopping channel OCJ saw Supafresh sell 1,000 packages in 30 minutes.
Xu said Supafresh is also seeing a steady increase in demand for organic produce, particularly at its retail stores. “We have started importing organic Mission avocados, with one pallet arriving mid-December, and we’ll try selling them through our online channels,” Xu told Fruitnet.
