A comprehensive analysis of China's plum industry: production dynamics, trade imbalances, technological innovation,
Yicen Xu1, Zhixiang Zhang2, Haijuan Zhao1
1Liaoning Institute of Pomology, Yingkou, China.
Abstract:
One of the traditional "Five Fruits" () of China with origins traceable to the Huangdi Neijing (〚〛, c. 300 BCE), the plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) constitutes both a cultural heritage crop and a strategically important horticultural commodity for rural revitalization and agricultural value-chain upgrading. This review systematically analyzes China's plum industry across four analytical dimensions-production dynamics, trade asymmetries, technological innovation, and strategic future directions-covering the 2021-2023 period, for which FAOSTAT reports complete validated statistics. Key quantitative findings include: China's 2023 cultivation area of 2,009 kha (>75% of global total), production of 6.89 Mt (55.3% of global output), a trade deficit expanding from USD 86 million (2018) to USD 267 million (2022), and import unit-prices averaging twice export unit-prices, with Chile alone supplying 84.45% of China's fresh plum imports. The review identifies five structural determinants of this import-export asymmetry (varietal quality mismatch, consumer preference divergence, postharvest infrastructure deficit, market segmentation, and international competitiveness gaps) and proposes a Technology Deployment Index revealing a severe gap between available and deployed technologies, particularly for biological control (<10% adoption despite >70% availability). A three-tier strategic roadmap (short-term 1-5 years, medium-term 5-10 years, long-term 10+ years) integrates breeding, cultivation, plant protection, processing, marketing, and policy priorities. This work fills a critical gap in the literature: whereas prior reviews have focused on specific aspects (phytochemicals, breeding, or postharvest physiology in isolation), no comprehensive analytical synthesis of the entire industrial value chain with explicit quantitative benchmarking and a structured strategic framework has been available for China's plum sector. The review provides actionable intelligence for policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders pursuing quality-driven industrial transformation under the Big Food Concept () strategic framework.
