Xi'an, China, Sept. 19 - SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc. a leading processor and manufacturer of concentrated apple, kiwifruit, pear
and other fruit juices and fruit products in the People's Republic of
China, today announced that it has officially launched the large-scale production of concentrated mulberry juice at the Company's Jingyang production base as of September 2008.
SkyPeople is one of the first companies to initiate large-scale production of concentrated mulberry juice in China. Since the harvest season for mulberries is only between April and May, and fresh mulberries are difficult to store for long periods, domestic mulberry juice production has historically been limited to the second quarter of every calendar year.
However, based on its proprietary mulberry storage technology, SkyPeople is capable of storing mulberries for at least 12 months, allowing for year round manufacturing. Currently, SkyPeople is capable of producing concentrated mulberry juice at a rate of up to 1,000 tons per year.
Mulberries are widely regarded as one of the most nutritionally substantive fruits available to consumers. They possess rich active proteins, vitamins, amino acids, carotenes, and a variety of essential minerals. Compared with other fruits, the concentration of nutrients in mulberries is six times greater than that of apples and over four times greater than that of grapes.
"SkyPeople is excited to announce this latest addition to our range product offerings. Our new production line has addressed the void in the mulberry juice market in China while allowing us to continue diversifying our product base," stated Mr. Yongke Xue, chief executive officer of SkyPeople. "Currently, we are the only manufacturer in China capable of large-scale concentrated mulberry juice production throughout the year.
According to our market research, due to low supply and rapid growth in demand, the average wholesale price of concentrated mulberry juice in the China market has reached RMB 80,000 to RMB 100,000 (approximately U.S.$11,764 to U.S.$14,706) per ton as of August 2008. We firmly believe that the addition of concentrated mulberry juice to our product line will bring SkyPeople strong financial rewards and strengthen our leadership in the domestic specialty fruit juice market."
About SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc.
SkyPeople Fruit Juice, Inc. is a holding company for Shaanxi Tianren Organic Food Co., Ltd. Shaanxi Tianren is a company organized according to the laws of the People's Republic of China. SkyPeople's main products are concentrated apple, kiwifruit, pear and other fruit juices for domestic and international consumers.