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Published on: July 10, 2026 | Author: 五星体育 | Source: Official
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to organize an apple e-commerce sales month activity nationwide, with sales from April 3rd to May 3rd.
It is reported that Alibaba Group, JD.com, Suning.com Group, and other e-commerce companies participated in the 'Apple Sales Month Action'. Data released by the Ministry of Agriculture shows that within three days of the launch of the apple e-commerce sales month action, Suning has sold 3.075 million kilograms of apples, JD.com has sold 110,000 kilograms, and other e-commerce platforms are also connecting with production areas and fruit farmers.
As a traditional fruit with high nutritional value, suitable for all ages, why did apples encounter 'inventory困' in 2015-2016? How effective is selling apples through the internet and e-commerce platforms? Recently, a reporter from China Science Daily interviewed relevant issues.
Apple Overstock, Why?
Apple farmer Wang Shuguang in Dangshan County, Anhui Province has finally breathed a sigh of relief in the past few days. He planted more than ten mu of apples. The apples were harvested in mid-September last year, but only half have been sold until recently. 'The overstock situation has eased in the past few days. Ground apples are basically finished, and cold storage apples are yet to be sold,' he told a reporter from China Science Daily.
In Wang Shuguang's impression, this year's apple price is the 'cheapest in recent years,' while a year ago, during the 2014-2015 sales season, apple prices reached their highest point. 'Last year, apples were sold for 2.6 yuan/jin, and this year they are sold for 7-8 mao.'
Why did local apples experience overstock? Huo Xuexi, a professor at the School of Economics and Management at Northwest A&F University of Science and Technology, told a reporter from China Science Daily that this is a common 'malady' in the production of high-value agricultural products in China, not just apples.
'In a production situation dominated by labor input, high-value-added agricultural products are very beneficial for increasing farmers' income. Driven by higher industrial comparative benefits, farmers' enthusiasm is high, which is the fundamental driving force,' said Huo Xuexi.
'Because fruits like apples have obvious benefits for increasing farmers' income, various regions have vigorously promoted their cultivation. Currently, the planting areas for apples are no longer limited to advantageous production areas. There is a certain degree of blind planting. The expansion has led to a significant breakthrough in the boundaries of previously established advantageous apple production areas. Some apples are planted in non-suitable or sub-suitable areas, which is also a very important reason,' said Huo Xuexi. In addition, the cost of apple production has also continued to rise over the past decade, especially since 2007.
From the demand side, the income elasticity of apple demand is relatively large. In other words, apples are not like grains, which are necessities; they can be eaten or not. 'In the new normal of China's economic development, when people's income growth is relatively slow, domestic demand for apple consumption is insufficient,' said Huo Xuexi. 'At the same time, affected by the increase in costs, apple exports from production areas are also affected.'
According to a previous report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China's apple production in 2015-2016 was predicted to be 43 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 5%. At the same time, it was predicted that China's imported fruit this year would increase by 50% year-on-year, reaching 100,000 tons.
In addition, farmers 'hoarding' is also one of the reasons for the current overstock in some areas. Wang Shuguang revealed to reporters that due to the high selling price of apples last year, many local fruit farmers hoped to sell apples at the same high price when harvesting this year. Therefore, there was a mentality of 'reluctance to sell,' which led to a significant decrease in the number of purchasing merchants and sales volume.
Apples Are Still Not Cheap, Why?
While Wang Shuguang's apples are selling at a historic low price, the market price of apples seems to be unaffected.
A reporter's visit to several supermarkets in Beijing found that apples priced at 4-5 yuan/jin are the average price, while apples with better appearance still maintain high prices. Many netizens also said that although there are a large quantity of apples at low prices in production areas, the apples they eat 'still cost several yuan each.'
According to the national apple market price information provided by the China Fruit Circulation Association, on April 1, 2016, the national wholesale average price of Fuji apples (200mm, Grade II and above) was 6.99 yuan/kg, and on April 12, this price was 6.24 yuan/kg.
Reporters learned that apples go through multiple links from the tree to the sales terminal, including agents, packing, transportation, storage, wholesale, and merchants, and each link incurs costs.
'Our logistics costs are very high, accounting for about 17% of the terminal sales price,' Huo Xuexi told reporters. 'In European and American countries, this proportion is 7%-8%.'
Although e-commerce sales directly from production areas to consumers have fewer links, logistics costs such as cold chain and distribution are very high. A market manager from a well-known e-commerce platform also revealed to reporters that when transporting fresh produce like apples, packaging materials must be used to ensure cold and fresh preservation, with packaging costs ranging from 4 to 8 yuan. In the distribution link, the cost of the 'last mile' delivery from centralized warehouses to consumers is also extremely high.
In addition to logistics costs, real estate and labor costs in large and medium-sized cities' retail channels are also reasons for the high selling price of apples at the consumer end. In other words, the considerable store rent, personnel expenses, etc., are all included in the selling price of apples.
In addition, according to media reports, although the state does not allow supermarkets to charge entry fees or stocking fees for agricultural products, in actual operations, if entering a supermarket or wholesale market, there are stall fees and entry fees, which are still default unavoidable expenses.
All these costs are ultimately passed on to consumers, causing the price of apples from the field to skyrocket after several transfers to reach consumers.
E-commerce Promotion for Apples, Feasible?
About 20 days ago, Dangshan County experienced the most severe apple overstock. Seeing apples rotting in the fields, fruit farmers were extremely anxious. 'Some fruit farmers had only a dozen catties left from a box of 40 catties of apples,' said Wang Shuguang. Anxious fruit farmers posted information about apple overstock on Weibo, WeChat, etc., and he was one of them. At the same time, he also sold apples through online channels such as micro-stores and WeChat Moments.
'The effect is quite significant,' said Wang Shuguang. 'Now goods are moving through various channels, with large trucks coming to pick them up, express delivery, and all sorts of methods.'
It is reported that Dangshan County has an apple planting area of 100,000 mu. 40,000 mu of early and mid-season varieties have been sold out. The late-season Fuji variety has 60,000 mu, with a yield of about 150 million kilograms. The unsold ones currently belong to this category of apples.
From the perspective of natural conditions, Dangshan, the 'hometown of fruits,' is a sub-optimal growing area for apples. Compared to advantageous areas, the quality of the fruit is not superior, making it difficult to sell at high prices in the market.
'Dangshan's apple planting area is not large, and it is already a weak industry with insufficient conditions for brand cultivation. As for improving apple quality, since the low-end market was profitable in previous years, farmers lack the motivation to change,' said Zhu Qigao, director of the Dangshan County Apple Industry Development Service Center. When apple prices were high, Luochuan and Yantai apples could generally be sold for 8-9 yuan/jin, while the highest purchase price for Dangshan apples was no more than 4 yuan/jin.
In fact, nationwide, apples produced in advantageous areas, with good quality and high brand recognition, are selling very well and have been largely sold out. Although prices have fallen back, the decline is not significant, which can be considered a 'normal return' of prices.
The current 'tough nut to crack' in apple sales is mostly located in sub-optimal areas, or although located in optimal areas, they are poorly managed and operated. Various reasons have caused these apples to experience large price drops and poor sales.
The 'Apple E-commerce Sales Month Action' organized by the Ministry of Agriculture aims to solve a large part of the sales of these types of apples. According to the issued notice, this activity aims to further promote the Ministry of Agriculture's relevant agricultural e-commerce action plan and fully leverage the important role of e-commerce in precisely matching supply and demand, reducing circulation costs, and promoting agricultural supply-side reform. Participating e-commerce will operate on the principle of breaking even with small profits and multi-party win-win, allowing apple-producing farmers and the vast number of consumers to share the fruits of 'Internet + Agricultural E-commerce.'
Regarding organizing e-commerce sales of apples, industry insiders told reporters that it is a 'good thing' for fruit farmers, but how to ensure quality control is crucial.
A reporter opened the apple sales page of an e-commerce platform and found that the lowest selling price of apples was 4 yuan/jin, and consumer reviews included negative comments such as 'all rotten' and 'mushy.'
'For e-commerce, product quality and building trust are very important,' an anonymous expert told reporters. 'The desire to help sell apples is good, but it may be difficult to truly solve the problem.' (Hu Xuanzi)