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Shaanxi province apple exports rebound as financial crisis effects fade

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-17 19:22

XI'AN: Northwest China's Shaanxi province has reported a significant recovery in apple juice and fruit exports as it shakes off the impact of the global financial crisis.

Fruit companies in the province sold 525,400 tonnes of fruit into the international market in 2009, up 28.5 percent from 2008, said Yu Jianbo, a Shaanxi province fruit industry official.

Exports of apple juice grew 33.6 percent to 467,500 tonnes, said Yu, quoting provincial customs figures. "At least 40 percent of apples grown in Shaanxi were sold overseas."

Shaanxi province produces one third of China's apples, with an annual output of 8 million tonnes. It is also the country's biggest kiwifruit producer, with last year's production hitting 500,000 tonnes.

Fruit farmers suffered from the global financial crisis between 2008 and early 2009, when many international orders for fruit and juices were cut.

"We are gradually recovering from the crisis," Yu said. "The export price for apples now averages $800 per tonne, about the 2006 level."

The price plunged to $500 per tonne during the financial crisis.