Economic situation and development countermeasures of Chinese peach industry

Abstract: Peach is one of the four major fruits in China. It is the main economic pillar to promote the prosperity of rural industries and farmers. Moreover, peach also has unique landscape value and cultural connotation. It is an important industrial support for building a beautiful countryside, promoting industrial integration and carrying forward agricultural culture. Using the statistical and research data of UN COMTRADE and the national peach industry technology system, this paper analyzes the current situation, problems and trends of peach industry economy from the perspectives of international and domestic trade, production and consumption, in order to provide theoretical and practical reference for promoting the healthy and sustainable development of China’s peach industry economy, and provide reference indicators of industrial economy for tackling key problems in peach industry technology research and development. This paper draws the following research conclusions: From the perspective of global production pattern, China is the largest peach producer in the world. By 2020, China’s peach cultivation area and yield accounted for 52% and 61% of the global peach cultivation area and yield, respectively. With the progress of science and technology, China’s peach productivity has increased to 19 283 kg·hm-2 , far exceeding the global average of 16 470 kg · hm^-2 . From the perspective of global trade pattern, first, the global trade volume of fresh peach accounted for about 10% of the total global peach output, and the trade volume was basically stable at about US $2.2 billion; China’s export volume accounted for only about 3% of the global fresh peach export volume, and the international competitiveness of fresh peach was insufficient. Second, compared with the export of fresh peaches, China’s export of peach processed products accounted for about 20% of the total global trade of peach processed products. It was theworld’s major exporter of peach processed products, but the exporting countries were concentrated in the United States and Japan, and its ability to resist market risks was low. From the perspective of domestic production pattern, by 2020, the peach cultivation area and yield in Shandong province accounted for 13% and 21% of the national peach cultivation area and yield, respectively. Shandong was the largest peach production province in China. From 2015 to 2020, Shanxi, Anhui, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces had the fastest growth rate in peach cultivation area and yield. In the specific production, circulation and consumption, the problem of“two high and one low”on the supply side was prominent: the age of the labor force was high, and the average age was more than 50 years old; The labor cost was high, and the labor cost accounted for more than 60% of the total cost; The production efficiency was low, and the income cost ratio of peach in 2021 was only 1.5. In addition, the variety structure at the national level was unbalanced and regional isomorphism appeared; The number of varieties planted by a single peach farmer was too large, 7 varieties were cultivated per household, and the resource allocation efficiency was low; The disorder of planting varieties made it difficult for industrial technology to be accurately matched. Peach sales market was a pattern of“large market and small businesses”. The market circulation was disordered, and the problem of“scattered at both ends and disordered in the middle”of the industry was prominent. Most peach producing areas relied too much on the purchase of merchants. This spot trading mechanism on the same day determined that there can only be a simple market relationship. The power of market bidding was concentrated on wholesalers, so that the price in the producing area was controlled by the acquirer and the price in the consumer market was controlled by channels. On the demand side, consumers valued price over quality. Farmers’markets and supermarkets were still the main terminal channels of peach, and online purchase channels were gradually increasing. Through the analysis of consumers’behavior, it was found that the attributes that consumers paid most attention to when buying peaches included: texture (soft and juicy or brittle and hard texture), freshness, surface defects or not, followed by price. It showed that the mainstream consumer groups were difficult to identify the quality of peach, and there was a problem of adverse selection, which made consumers more sensitive to price rather than internal quality. Finally, based on the current situation and development pattern of industrial economy, the paper puts forward five development trends aiming at peach industry. First, the degree of labor constraints has gradually increased, and the growth rate of peach farmers’income has gradually slowed down. Second, the variety structure should be further adjusted and the layout of production areas should be optimized. Third, the strength of brand building has been gradually improved, and standardized production has gradually become a trend. Fourth, the logistics, production and marketing systems have been gradually improved, and the proportion of ecommerce channel sales has continued to rise. Fifth, labor- saving technology has been improved, and production service organizations have gradually developed.