China’s 2020/21 pear crop is projected to fall almost 8% to 16 million tons, as frost hit the country’s main producing region, Hebei. Chinese consumers prefer crunchy Asian pears over western pear varieties. The low volumes of imported western pears from the EU and South Africa are mostly consumed by children and older people. The MY 2020/21 pear import forecast is 11,000 tons, according to FAS China data.

Photo: Eurofresh DIstribution

The world’s largest apple producer, China’s 2020/21 crop is projected to drop almost 5% to 40.5 million tons due to frost damage in April in the major apple-growing areas of the north-western provinces of Shaanxi (-15%), Shanxi (-10%) and Gansu (-20%), according to USDA data.