중국 감귤류 insights

The Ministry of Industry and Trade minister urgently requested the affiliated units to prepare a letter to China, aiming to maximize the shortening of the time to sign the protocol within this year.

Recently, the International Fruit and Vegetable Report interviewed Greg Asta, the export sales manager of Ac foods Australia, at the Australian Trade Commission booth at the 2025 China International Fruit Expo. Asta introduced, "The Sumo citrus grown in Australia arrives in August and September, which is off-season from Chinese citrus. Moreover, it coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, making it a perfect holiday gift." Sumo citrus is sweet and juicy, with an easy-to-peel and seedless characteristic, perfectly matching the taste preferences of Chinese consumers. It was introduced that last year, Australian-grown Sumo citrus began to enter the Chinese market, with China expected to become the second-largest export market after the United States. The Sumo citrus is named after "sumo," because the fruit is large and round, resembling a Japanese sumo wrestler with a topknot. The Sumo variety is a late-ripening citrus hybrid, known as dekopon in Japan, and in China it is called "ugly orange." It was created in 1972 by crossing Kiyomi mandarin and Nakano 3 No. Satsuma. The first dekopon citrus seedlings were introduced to the United States in 1998, exclusively licensed to Ac foods USA for cultivation. In recent years, through investment in social media marketing, Sumo citrus has become a popular fruit, attracting a large number of young consumers in Europe and America. Ac foods owns over 20,000 acres of orchards in California, Oregon, and Australia, cultivating citrus, blueberries, hazelnuts, and other crops. Currently, there are 600 acres of Sumo citrus planted in Victoria, with an annual production of approximately 600,000 boxes (6 pounds per box). In August of this year, Legacy Packing, a subsidiary of Australia's AC Foods, in collaboration with Tomra, upgraded the packaging plant's equipment and facilities. It is expected that by June 2026, the packaging capacity will increase to 36,000 boxes per day. Image source: AC Foods; International Fruit and Vegetable Report; Sumo Citrus 2025 International Fruit and Vegetable Report. All rights reserved. Reproduction requires permission from the International Fruit and Vegetable Report and credit must be given to the source.

Recently, Sweet C South African mandarin oranges have entered a stable supply period. In previous years, Sweet C's market entry in China was typically in August-October, but this year the arrival time has significantly advanced to June, perfectly filling the domestic summer citrus off-season. Many retailers and consumers have discovered that Sweet C's taste has also greatly improved, thanks to the support of the new RHM variety. The new RHM (Royal Honey Murcott) is an early-maturing mandarin variety, originating from a natural variant in the central region of Queensland, Australia. The RHM has an average peel thickness of around 2 millimeters, juice content over 50%, sugar content exceeding 12, and a sugar-acid ratio of 24:1. With its low acidity, sweet taste, few seeds, and rich tropical flavor, it is rapidly becoming one of the most popular citrus varieties globally. Sweet C's selected citrus varieties are easy to peel, sweet and juicy, and almost seedless. Over the years, with its rich and fresh taste and perfectly balanced sweet-sour ratio, it has won widespread praise from domestic consumers. Jason, the international procurement manager at Shanghai Zuo Guo Trading Co., Ltd., the official authorized distributor of Sweet C, explained that the company began introducing the RHM variety last year with positive market feedback. This year, the RHM variety's proportion has significantly increased to 40%, which is very beneficial for capturing the domestic summer citrus market. Shanghai Zuo Guo continues to introduce high-quality South African fruits to the domestic market, striving to strengthen cooperation with various channels and aiming to let more consumers experience high-quality, easy-to-peel, sweet and juicy citrus during the hot summer. Sweet C's popularity in the domestic market is also inseparable from the quality commitment of the brand Fruitalyst and exporter Core. Based on years of experience exporting to the European market, Sweet C follows strict and advanced management processes in planting, harvesting, packaging, and transportation. Combined with reasonable global export and sales channel allocation, Sweet C has maintained stable prices over the years. It is believed that with the continued joint efforts of the brand, exporter, importer, and sales channels, Sweet C's brand awareness and quality recognition in the Chinese market will continue to improve.