Chinese fruit imports have grown in recent years, to the extent that the domestic high-end fruit market has suffered from international competition. Australian fruit in particular found a warm welcome with Chinese consumers through their reputation for "high-quality, high-nutritional value" fruit. Australia greatly benefited from the Sino-Australian Free Trade Agreement and has become China's largest fruit supplier. 13 kinds of fruit from 10 countries obtained permission in early 2017 to enter the Chinese market. Four of those fruits came from Australia: blueberries, peaches, plums, and apricots. Australian farmers can be seen as the greatest winners in the last two years.
The Australian Weekly Times reported that Australian export of drupes to China increased by 167% since the Sino-Australian Free Trade Agreement was implemented two years ago. Data from the first three months of 2018 shows that the projected export of peaches, nectarines, and plums from Australia to China in 2018 will reach nearly 5000 tons. This would be an export volume increase of 263% in comparison with 2017.
The fruit import volume in China is larger than the fruit export volume, and that difference grows by 13% every year. Data from the Department of Agriculture shows that China imported 1.45 million tons of fruit in the first quarter of 2018, which is an increase of 20% in comparison with the same period last year. The import value was 24.1 million USD, which is an increase of 50% in comparison with the same period last year.
John Moore, CEO of SummerFruit Australia, stated that farmers should pay attention to the excellent market prospects in China and continue to strengthen the position of Australian farmers in the Chinese market. This will help to solve the domestic situation where fruit supply exceeds demand. China is not only an opportunity for Australian farmers to make profit, fruit export to China is also an opportunity to solve problems on the Australian market.
Source: Dongheng Talk