This Access Asia report covers the vegetables market in China. The vegetables market is the largest sector of the retail food market in China, yet barely affected by the development of new retail formats.
The fruit and vegetable market is the largest sector of the retail food market in China, yet is one of the last to be affected by the development of new retail formats in China. Fruit and vegetable sales still tend to be dominated by the free wet markets, most of which take place in open-air market places or streets, where local farmers supply produce direct from the field to the end consumer. The retail fruit and vegetable markets are not only selling to private individuals though, and often supply to institutions and companies such as restaurants. This means that the retail market for fruits and vegetables is often indistinguishable from the wholesale trade, especially when some fruit and vegetable wholesalers also sell retail. This report does not attempt to distinguish between wholesale and retail sales, as this would be an exhaustive process to research, and would make little sense in terms of how the market is structured. What is clear is that the wet market system, relying s it does on local producers selling to local consumers, is a very fragmented one. There is little in the way of national- or even regional-level competition in this market, and no real significant market leaders, save a few privately-run wholesale and wet market companies.