Major Chinese citrus grower expects 20% output increase

Chinese citrus producer Dongfang Modern Agriculture, which listed on the Australian share market last year, expects the current citrus and camellia harvest in China to be the company's best ever.

Dongfang controls plantations spanning over 8,600 hectares in China's premier fruit-growing region, Jiangxi Province. Dongfang raised $39 million in an initial public offer of shares partly to help it fund the leasing of more fruit plantations in China.

Dongfang said on Wednesday that it expects to deliver almost 240,000 tonnes of fruits and camellia products this season - up 20 per cent on last season and six per cent ahead of prospectus forecasts.

The company secretary explained that the company will continue to seek opportunities to grow in China's fragmented citrus sector, where the company is currently the second largest citrus harvester with a market share of just three per cent.

Dongfang expects to harvest around 20,000 tonnes of oranges this season - up 17 per cent from a year earlier. The pomelo harvest is expected to reach 54,000 tonnes - in line with the prior year. The tangerines harvest is expected to increase by 35 per cent to around 142,000 tonnes, and account for about 60 per cent of total revenue for fiscal 2016. The camellia harvest is expected to be around 23,000 tonnes, down 4.5 per cent on the prior year.

Source: SBS Australia