Chinese officials have called on Cambodia and other ASEAN nations to increase their fruit exports to China amid an expected rise in domestic demand for fresh produce fuelled by online sales, reports phnompenhpost.com.
“One website is already selling fruit online and there are more websites going to start... In 2013, online fruit sales in China totalled around US$81m,” Feng Bo told the publication.
“One million tonnes of fruit [from ASEAN countries] will not be enough for China’s market. We are looking to import more, especially from Cambodia. Therefore, I would like to suggest agriculture officials in Cambodia discuss the issue with us as soon as possible,” he added.
Cambodia currently exports dragon fruit, rambutan, durian, mangosteen and longan to China via Thailand or Vietnam, the report said.
Sreng Sreang, president of Pailin Logan Association, said his association produced 1,210 tonnes of the fruit during the last harvest season. Of the total haul, about 676 tonnes was shipped to China via Thailand.
Sreang told the paper he expects exports to China to increase to more than 1,215 tonnes at the end of the 2014 harvest season.
“The demand of longan is increasing annually. Price is also stable and increasing gradually,” he said. “There is demand, but there is still the issue of our capacity. Even if we expand capacity year-on-year, the demand still outweighs our supply.”
