Frozen Fruits and Vegetables Market Prospects in China

Frozen vegetables and fruits are no longer a rare item in China. China's frozen fruit and vegetable industry is mainly divided into two segments: export and domestic sales.

China is a large producer and exporter of frozen vegetables and fruits in the world. Although China's frozen fruit and vegetable industry started late, but with unique resource advantages, it has been developed rapidly after the reform and opening up, especially since the 1990s, China has gradually become a large producer and exporter of frozen fruits and vegetables in the world, and its share in international trade has been increasing. China's frozen fruit and vegetable enterprises have been increasing, and as of 2017, the national frozen fruit and vegetable enterprises have reached 1,200. The annual production capacity of enterprises above scale can reach 120,000 tons, and listed enterprises have appeared. Most of the frozen fruit and vegetable enterprises are small and medium-sized, with annual production capacity ranging from several thousand tons to the level of tens of thousands of tons. Although frozen enterprises are distributed in many provinces and cities across the country, most of them are located in Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Liaoning and other eastern and coastal areas. The main varieties of frozen fruits and vegetables in China are cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, chili peppers, sweet corn, leeks, Dutch beans, green beans, carrots, yams, tomatoes, potato strips, sweet potato cubes, purple potatoes, etc. More than 30 varieties, of which mushrooms, Dutch beans, asparagus, green beans, green peppers, sweet corn, cucumbers, spinach, potato strips, sweet potato cubes, purple potatoes, diced as the main varieties of exported frozen varieties are mainly to the green beans, Dutch beans The main export frozen varieties are green beans and Dutch beans. The main varieties of frozen fruits are mangoes, peaches, apricots, strawberries, prunes, blueberries, raspberries and other Chinese specialty fruits that are not resistant to freshness and storage. Due to the backwardness of freezing equipment, production technology is not mature, China's exports of frozen fruit and vegetable products in 1997 was only 213,000 tons. 2001, by the impact of the international environment, the general decline in raw material prices, exports soared, and then the export volume to maintain a steady growth; to 2005, the export volume of frozen fruits and vegetables to reach nearly 700,000 tons in 2010 exports reached 985,000 tons, to achieve a larger Leap. With the acceleration of economic globalization, the development of frozen technology and equipment is becoming more and more mature, the competition in the frozen industry is becoming more and more fierce, and the profit is also declining, and the export volume basically maintains a stable state. in 2015, China's export volume of frozen fruit and vegetable products was only 1.01 million tons, but the amount of exports continued to grow.

In the domestic market, when many consumers still think that frozen fruits and vegetables are unfamiliar, it has long appeared in the streets and alleys. For daily consumption and security of supply, frozen vegetables were first used to alleviate the shortage of vegetables in winter in the north of China, but now many restaurants in order to ensure the stability of the dishes and the efficiency of the dishes, will also choose frozen vegetables, the most common is the use of many takeaway restaurants pre-prepared dishes. Another hot spot for frozen fruits and vegetables in the domestic market is the milk tea industry, which has been a consumer boom for young people in recent years. According to industry statistics, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes, and other fruits used in milk tea stores across the country are frozen diced fruits. Because the milk tea industry is also an industry where prepared foods are blended on-site, frozen fruit puddings can maximize the consistency, safety, and stability of the ingredients and are widely used in the industry. According to a May 2021 foreign information report, escalating demand for frozen strawberry ingredients in China's milk tea industry in 2020-2021 has impacted global ingredient prices for frozen diced strawberries. As of May 2021, the price of frozen strawberries exported from China has risen to US$0.92-1.05 per kilogram from US$0.81-0.88 per kilogram before.China exported 55,000 tons of frozen strawberries in 2020, and the domestic demand for the whole year is less than 200,000 tons, but by 2021, the demand for frozen strawberries in China rises to more than 240,000 tons, and therefore the total amount of frozen strawberries exported theoretically less than 50,000 tons. This directly leads to the global frozen strawberry unit price rise and demand exceeds supply situation. According to the domestic frozen strawberry industry information report, in 2021 China has been buying frozen strawberries from Egypt in large quantities as raw materials for the food industry and catering outlets. As of November 2021, the volume of frozen strawberries imported into Egypt by China has entered the 10,000-ton track. Apart from a small amount of table consumption and milk tea industry, the large domestic demand for frozen fruits and vegetables is mainly concentrated in the raw material demand of jam processing industry, juice processing industry, dairy processing industry, canning processing industry and dried fruit processing industry.