Qionghai's wax apples carve out niche in Dubai market

HAIKOU, China, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from chinadaily.com.cn

A fruit company based in Qionghai city in China's southernmost Hainan province has struck gold with its special, juicy wax apples.

It's become the first in Hainan to obtain the GLOBALG.A.P. certification for wax apples — opening the door to premium supermarkets in the Middle East and the European Union.

The certification was granted to Yirenyi (Hainan) Agriculture Co Ltd following an audit by the international certification body Ecocert. It is also the first GLOBALG.A.P. certification awarded to any agricultural enterprise in Qionghai, according to the Qionghai Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on May 13.

"Getting this certification gives us direct access to high-end supermarkets such as Walmart and Costco in the Middle East and the EU," said Wu Bin, general manager of the company.

"Overseas buyers prioritize certified suppliers, which means less repeated factory and product inspections and significantly higher distribution efficiency," Wu added.

Since the start of 2026, the company has exported seven consignments of Dalu wax apples to Dubai.

Thanks to their uniform appearance and sweet, juicy quality, the fruit has quickly gained traction in Dubai's mid-to-high-end fresh produce retail channels, with repeat purchase rates steadily rising. The retail price in local supermarkets is currently around $20 per kilogram.

Meeting GLOBALG.A.P. standards required a fundamental shift in how the farm operated. "The hardest part wasn't the financial investment — it was transforming from experience-based farming to fully standardized cultivation across the entire production process," Wu said.

Wu noted that every international standard, from traceability management and input recording to pesticide residue control and environmental monitoring, had pushed the company to continuously update its farm management approach.

He added that obtaining international certification was just the first step in taking Dalu wax apples to the world. The company is currently in talks to enter the Canadian and Russian markets and is pursuing additional certifications in other specialized categories.

It's also brought around 40 nearby farming households on board — providing them with a unified input list and technical standards and guaranteeing to purchase their produce, so that more local growers can benefit from the export opportunity.

For its part, the Qionghai Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has said it will work with the city's market supervision authorities and other departments to support the branding and export promotion of local specialty agricultural products.

Furthermore, it will guide more agricultural operators to be in line with international standards — and drive the quality upgrading of Qionghai's distinctive agricultural industries forward, to support the high-quality development of Hainan FTP's premium tropical produce.

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