BEIJING: The favor of Chinese consumers for Pakistani pine nuts has driven huge import demand, and China has become the main export destination of Pakistani pine nuts.
It is still a month away from Pakistan’s pine nut harvest season, but Chinese buyers can’t wait. On a mainstream e-commerce platform in China, a store selling Pakistani pine nuts has sold 10,000+ bags a month, and got 3,009 comments.
“The pine nut has a strong flavor with full and large kernel. It can be shelled with just a slight pinch, and fresh kernels lay inside.” Those comments have shown Chinese consumers’ high praise for them. However, it is only one of hundreds of Pakistani pine nut e-retailers in China.
The consumers’ favor for Pakistani pine nuts has led to Chinese businessmen’s troubles. “In the past lean year for Pakistani pine nuts, I could purchase them whenever I wanted.
However, it turned out be a tough year to import raw pine nuts in 2020 when Pakistan had a bumper harvest of pine nuts,” said Bao Miaofen, Chairman of Jiusheng Food Co., Ltd. in Zhuji, East China’s Zhejiang Province, during an interview.
“Moreover, the price of Pakistani pine nuts has been soaring high. This year is the 11th year of our Pakistani pine nut business, but we all think of turning to other fields,”Bao added.
In China’s nut market, Pakistani pine nuts can be described as a real luxury product. Its selling price on China’s main e-commerce platforms is about RMB 320-600 (about Rs 7,510-14,080) per kg. However, Pakistani exporters said the local pine nut price is halved, only Rs.1,700 (about RMB 71 ) per kg. According to the data released by the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council, China is the second largest consumer of pine nut. In 2018, the pine nut consumption in China amounted to approximately 3,474 tons, about 1.2 times the average annual output of Pakistan in recent five years. As one of the three major pine nut varieties in the Chinese market, Pakistani pine nuts enjoy a high premium and are listed as high-end snacks.
A bag of 250g Pakistani pine nuts costs about RMB 80 (about Rs 2,033), nearly twice that of other Chinese pine nut varieties. – Agencies
