China Agri News Week 18, 2020
This is the news overview of week 18 from the agricultural team of the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing.
One of China’s Biggest E-Commerce Platforms Launched Service in Beijing
On April 21st, Dingdong Maicai officially launched its services in Beijing. Dingdong Maicai is one of China’s biggest e-commerce retail platforms for fresh produce. They first entered the market in 2017 in Shanghai, China’s strongest competition area in fresh food e-commerce. Within just three years, Maicai became the most favored online platform to purchase fresh produce in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shenzhen, and other markets. In total, their orders reach up to 600 thousand daily, with a month-on-month repurchasing rate that exceeds 60%. In February 2020, the monthly revenue exceeded 1.2 billion yuan (source, Chinese only: Securities Daily).
Imported Spirits Surged in 2019
In 2019, China’s total import volume of spirits was 110 million liters, an increase of 32% year-on-year. Total import value reached US$ 1.6 billion, an increase of no less than 32% year-on-year. Spirits imports account for 32% of total alcohol imports. Imported spirit brands are becoming increasingly popular with Chinese young consumer groups. This also accounts for wine and other variety with a lower alcohol percentage (source, Chinese only: 21food).
Yanqing's Bulb Flower Producer in the Picture
Last week, the Secretary-general of the China Flower Association and his deputy visited Yanqing Farm owned by Da Ai Guo Tai Agricultural Technology Co.Ltd. With 380 tulip varies, the are the largest tulip bulb flower production base in Xinjiang with the largest variety in China. At the 2019 World Expo, they cooperated with the Beijing Capital Agribusiness Group to observe the adaptability, cultivation and growth application of new tulip varieties on Yanqing. The bulb planting, flowering, and harvesting were all carried out following the Dutch production procedures (source, Chinese only: China Flower Association, April 28th)
Thai Fruits Face Serious Stagnation at Sino-Vietnamese Border
Affected by COVID-19, the import of Thai fruits have suffered considerable delay or stagnation at the Sino-Vietnamese border, seriously compromising the quality of the fruits. In response, the Ministry of Agriculture of Thailand, the National Agricultural Products and Food Standards Bureau of Thailand, and the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) held talks. GACC subsequently decided to open two extra entry points namely Dongxing inspection station and Pingxiang railway station by the end of April. This should be right on time to facilitate the Thai harvest season (source, Chinese only: Asia Fruit, April 27th).
Short News:
The Agriculture Department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region plans to invest 400 million yuan to accelerate the promotion of the dairy industry. Their goal is to reach a milk output of 6 million tons by the end of 2020 (source, Chinese only: Farmers’ Daily April 29th).
- The granary renovation project of Beijing Capital Agribusiness Group in Daxing has been fully resumed. When the project is completed, the total storage area will reach 90,000 square meters, and the storage capacity will be 260,000 tons (source, Chinese only: Farmers’ Daily April 27th).
- In 2019, Yili's total operating income was more than 90 billion yuan. Their net profit was 7 billion yuan, an increase of 7.73% year-on-year, making it the biggest enterprise in Asia in the dairy industry for the sixth consecutive year (source, Chinese only: China Dairy Association April 29th).
- Bright Dairy released its 2019 annual report, showing a total operating income of 22,6 billion yuan in 2019, a 7.5% increase year-on-year. With this they contributed to their parent company’s net profit of no less than 489 million yuan, an 45.8% increase year-on-year (source, Chinese only: 21food).
- On April 25, the Shanghai International Flower Expo opened in Shanghai’s Botanical Garden. The expo is co-organized by China National Parks Association, Shanghai Afforestation and Appearance Administration, Shanghai Ecological Culture Association. The expo will last until May 24th (source, Chinese only: China Flower Newspaper, April 24th).
- On April 28th, The Beijing World Expo Park was reopened. This was celebrated with the official opening of the first Beijing International Garden Festival (source, Chinese only: China Flower Newspaper, April 28th).