Large fruit consumption contrast on Asian continent
North Bay Produce will be exhibiting at the Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong, from September 2 unti…North Bay Produce will be exhibiting at the Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong, from September 2 until 4.
Blueberry consumption increases rapidly
“We will certainly be displaying blueberries and possibly apples,” says Eric Olshove with North Bay Produce. “Blueberries are our largest product in terms of value and we are seeing increased interest for blueberries in Asia. We may also display our new Ready-to-Eat (RTE) blueberry pack, which was featured in a previous news article."
We find some markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore to be fairly mature in consumption, while demand is growing and fairly new to markets like mainland China. In Thailand and Indonesia on the other hand, blueberries are a specialty product and purchased primarily as gift items or a special treat. North Bay Produce has a 52-week program to supply blueberries as well as apples to Asia. During the US local season, the berries are grown primarily in Eastern US states with the season ending in Michigan. They are grown in South America and Mexico the remainder of the year.
Red Delicious still most popular
North Bay Produce may also be presenting apples at the show. “Asians are big apple consumers and volume wise, Red Delicious is still the largest variety,” said Olshove. “Indian consumers exclusively buy Red Delicious and in Asia’s mainland, consumers also prefer Red Delicious because of its deep red color. The Singapore market on the other hand is trending fast towards new varieties,” said Olshove.
Pomegranates are North Bay’s third largest category and although Olshove would love to have them on display, it is probably too early as they are sourced in Peru. Some other products the company offers are peas (snow peas and sugar snaps), mangos, lemons, dates, figs and a few easy peeler mandarins like Satsuma.