Pinghe County has become China's largest pomelo production and export base, with an annual export volume reaching nearly 200,000 metric tons.
According to a report by Fujian Daily, on August 15, a 18.7-metric-ton shipment of Pinghe honey pomelos, having passed inspection and quarantine by Zhangzhou Customs under Xiamen Customs District, set off for New Zealand smoothly. This marks the first time that fresh honey pomelos from Pinghe County have been exported to New Zealand, and also the first time that Chinese pomelo fruits have entered the Southern Hemisphere market.
Honey pomelo is a specialty of Pinghe County, with a cultivation history of more than 500 years to date. Lin Qiming, President of the Pinghe County Honey Pomelo Industry Federation, stated that leveraging its unique natural environment and increasingly sophisticated ecological cultivation techniques for honey pomelos, Pinghe County has emerged as China's top pomelo production and export base, boasting an annual export scale of nearly 200,000 metric tons.
From June 17 to 20 this year, New Zealand Prime Minister Luxon paid an official visit to China; on June 20, the two countries formally signed the *Export Plan for the Export of Fresh Chinese Pomelos to New Zealand between the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry for Primary Industries of New Zealand*; on July 28, the General Administration of Customs of China issued the *Announcement on Phytosanitary Requirements for Chinese Pomelos Exported to New Zealand*, marking that Chinese honey pomelos have officially obtained market access to New Zealand.
Subsequently, Zhangzhou Customs completed the registration and recommendation of 12 processing factories and 14 orchards for New Zealand at the first opportunity, ultimately facilitating the successful first export of Pinghe honey pomelos to the New Zealand market.
It is reported that the breakthrough in exporting honey pomelos to the Southern Hemisphere market is of great significance for the sound development of Pinghe's honey pomelo industry and stimulating new growth drivers for China's fruit export market.
At present, the harvesting work for the 2025 Pinghe honey pomelo season is in full swing. This season's honey pomelos have seen improvements in both output and quality, with prices remaining at a reasonable level. Benefiting from favorable climatic conditions in the producing area, this season’s Pinghe honey pomelos excel in both appearance and taste, and the favorable prices have enabled domestic buyers to seize the opportunity first, sparking a sales boom right at the producing area.
Insiders in the industry indicated that the output of small-sized honey pomelos, which cater to the preferences of the European market, has increased this year, with outstanding quality and moderate prices, making this season one with the highest cost performance in recent years.
In terms of exports, the European market remains the largest export destination for Chinese honey pomelos. Customs data shows a notable growth trend in supply volume in July this year. Taking the Dutch market as an example, the export volume of grapefruits and pomelos surged by approximately 307.26% year-on-year in 2024, with the export value rising by 94.32% year-on-year.
