From well-ordered wet markets to plush points of sale with pretty packaging, a selection of three very different Shanghai produce outlets was put under scrutiny today by leading industry representatives from around the world, as a precursor to the Produce Marketing Association's (PMA) Fresh Connections China 2013 conference. The verdict was a significant improvement over recent years with food safety in the limelight.

Browsing usual airport wares of chocolates, liquor, oversized cigarette boxes, trinkets and magazines, www.freshfruitportal.com had a rather pleasant encounter during a stopover at the Beijing airport; a glistening wrapped fresh fruit stand with purple signs saying "Fruit Sale", backed up by a drawing of a joyful cartoon character in a pink costume.

Apples, pears, mandarins, cherries, the stand was perhaps a sign of things to come; a China where healthy eating is part of the energetic battle to grab attention in this fast-growing economy.

Fresh Connections participants hopped on the bus at the Westin Hotel to visit the first stop of the afternoon; a Wal-Mart in the area of Wujiachang, one of 370 outlets the company has throughout the country in conjunction with property developer Wan Dao Group.

The first impression was a far cry from supermarkets in western countries, with the multinational showing its ability to adapt to local customs. Provided by produce suppliers, people stood at specific stands aggressively plugging the value of their mangoes, apples or pineapples, as if in a traditional market but under a modern format.

Exporters compared prices of varieties and brands, while the store's general manager Andy Yu's list of the highest ranking produce types in the store came as a surprise to many.

Fuji apples on promotion took the top spot, followed by Dole bananas from the Philippines whose trade Yu highlighted had come out relatively unaffected by tightened protocols for the South East Asian nation. Next in line were cherry tomatoes, Vietnamese dragonfruit and Sunkist oranges; the brand of the latter heavily emphasized by the manager.

He said fruit accounted for 8% of sales but 12% of floor space, which shows just how important produce is for driving supermarket traffic, in a city where less than a quarter of people own cars and retailers resort to free shuttles to bring in customers.

M.Z. Marketing Communications Co's Mabel Zhuang, who is the PMA's Chinese representative, said the importance of fruit was also shown in its domination of the country's total fresh food sales, accounting for 55% while vegetables corresponded to 18%.

Under new leadership, food safety has become a much bigger policy item for the Chinese government. Zhuang pointed out some in the private sector had locked in step, with Wal-Mart providing in-house chemical testing equipment as consumers have been very suspicious about pesticide residues.

"Pesticide is a systematic issue. Because the government allocates small plots of land to farmers, in order to make the most use of them they use pesticides to boost yields, but it's not sustainable," she said.

"Now the pesticide level is monitored by the government and Wal-Mart is trying to set an example in the food safety of fruit and vegetables."

One example of this change is the prevalence of government-sanctioned indoor wet markets, with more than 800 such outlets in Shanghai alone, according to Zhuang.

The second stop of the afternoon was one such wet market in Yixiang, mostly stocking locally supplied vegetables that appeared in good condition with bright and lively vendors. There was some fruit, as well as fish and live ducks and chickens ready to be killed on site.

The Yixiang market was a visual feast of veggies ripe for the wok, with the kind of community feel that prompted this reporter to make poor attempts at the Chinese language and buy water chestnuts. A woman kneaded flour that she fried into sheets for making spring rolls, while bicycles and motorbikes passed along the street lined with other foods, pots and pans.

The third and final stop was an outlet of the upmarket City Shop in Riyueguang, with premium priced goods; the majority of vegetables are grown locally, picked on the same day, sent to the company's central distribution center and then sent to store.

Purchasing manager Vincent Li said two new store openings this month had expanded the City Shop outlet count to 12, with 10 in Shanghai and two in Beijing.

In terms of fruit sales, he said Dole bananas were number one, table grapes were in second place, followed by apples in third place.

Market tour reflection

PMA vice president of global business development Nancy Tucker, told www.freshfruitportal.com the three different outlets gave a good example of the various ways fruits and vegetables could be marketed in China.

"For example you had your wet market and it was a very nice wet market - a lot nicer than many I've toured here in China - and then you had your more medium level store that appealed to a large, broader target audience.

"Then you have your very high end so you get a chance to see what it's all like. This is especially good for a lot of the people who are attending here because this is a place that's selling mostly imported fruit, so they get a chance to see how it’s merchandised, what consumers are looking for."

Another aspect Tucker found interesting was the greater variety in fruit sizes, especially for mangoes.

"From mangoes that were about three inches long to mangoes that are about a foot long; it's just incredible with the different varieties of a single commodity that we've seen are available in these shops."

Perfection Fresh general manager Asia exports Malcolm McLean, said he got the sense price sensitivity was quite important in China, particularly at Wal-Mart.

"For the Wal-Mart chain, you could argue that their format is in some aspects very similar to in other parts of the world except that they they’ve tended to personalize their offer by modifying their mix.

"If you then look at the wet market, there’s a strong theme of price, freshness, strong orientation towards vegetables. Then this store [City Shop], it’s very high end, driven by convenience but overall quality on face value looks very good.

"If you look at grapes, when it comes to eating quality and size, there is an expectation that they’re on the upper quartile."

Sun World's international licensing VP Johan Jooste, agreed that quality was high but said the level of branding was missing where it should have been at City Shop.

"Looking at the wines they've got all the names of the brands but looking at the fresh produce, I haven't seen any branding; they just sell a peach and a plum and a grape, but no real branding, not where it comes from that will support the whole quality of presentation.

"The first thing that strikes one is the variation of product you get. To me it's always exciting to see all the contrasts - the experience is absolutely a rhapsody of colors to your eyes. What you can see here is they’re catering for all kind of shoppers and customers."

Naturipe Farms vice president of marketing Robert Verloop said Shanghai was one of the most exciting cities to market produce right now, and he found it reassuring to see efforts to send fruit halfway across the world and keep consumers happy had been successful.

"The diversity of products in their produce departments has certainly improved since the last time I was here about six years ago.

"And there's the fact that there are more and more perishable products just shows that while we have this perception that the infrastructure is not up to the standards we would see in the United States or Europe, it’s pretty clear that in the right places like where we are today [City Shop], it is possible to do."

Seald Sweet International chief executive officer Mayda Sotomayor also told www.freshfruitportal.com her impression of Shanghai's produce industry was better than during her last visit seven years ago.

"In these three markets we just saw big differences but you see one thing in common: good fruit, good vegetables, good commodities," she said.

"There are 23 million people just in the Shanghai area alone and a company like ours that’s involved with Univeg has a huge opportunity here to see what can we do trading-wise, because we have so much production all over the world. What can we trade back and forth?

"My direct report is that China has not only the opportunities that everybody hears, but they’re real – not in the future, they’re now."

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