According to a USDA-GAIN report, China will import an estimated 210,000 tons of table grape imports in the 2021/22 marketing year (June-May), i.e. 8% over the previous year, as the production of its main supplier -Chile- rebounds. In the 2020/21 marketing year, Chinese grape imports from Chile fell by 30% over the previous year due to the decrease in the country's production, the document stated. Imports from Peru, China's second-largest supplier of grapes, are also expected to improve and the supply of Australian grapes will increase next year. However, it is unclear how the continued trade tensions between China and Australia may affect imports from this supplier. Imports from the northern hemisphere, mainly from the United States, will continue to decline in the face of competition from local supplies. Additionally, imports will be affected by ongoing logistical challenges, such as container shortages, port service disruptions, COVID-19 testing, and the disinfection measures implemented by China. It should also be noted that China imposed retaliatory Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs on US agricultural products, including fresh grapes. Chinese table grape exports are expected to decline by almost 23% to 330,000 tons in the 2021/22 season, as COVID-19 continues to prevail in some of the main Southeast Asian markets, including Vietnam, the second-largest buyer of Chinese grapes after Thailand. The spread of the pandemic has drastically slowed down purchasing activities in these countries and some trade areas bordering China have been closed, according to media reports.
Production
China's table grape production is forecast at 11 million tons in the 2021/22 season (June-May), i.e. almost 2% more than in the previous season. The area cultivated area with grapes is estimated at 733,000 hectares, a little higher than in the previous year. The Kyoho, Red Globe, Muscat, and Thompson Seedless grapes are the dominant varieties in China, but their market share has decreased, especially the share of the Red Globe variety. New varieties, particularly seedless varieties, such as Crimson Seedless and Shine Muscat, are becoming popular and their acreage is expanding rapidly.