What do Italian companies think of the Asian market? We asked this question to some of those who attended the presentation of the Macfrut fair in Beijing.
"The Chinese market is very important for kiwis. We export fruit of a high quality for what concerns both appearance and organoleptic qualities. What is more, people recognise high quality and, if they like a certain product, they are willing to pay the right price for it. I would say the main difficulty is competition among us Italians," explains Massimo Ceradini from Ceradini Group.
He also adds that more cooperation between exporters is needed and that another problem is the lack of a single quality standard on the market.
"I only sell if there is an insurance or if buyers pay in advance. This is not impossible when your reputation is good. We have always tried to be professional and open, which helped our reputation."
Left to right: Giulia Montanaro, Valentina Giaccherini, Massimo Ceradini, Romina Kamel, Roman Donchenko, Renzo Balestri, photographed in Beijing at the end of the presentation
From kiwis to apples. Giulia Montanaro, from Assomela, mentioned the bureaucracy that is impeding apple exports into China. "Our idea is for the apple dossier to include pears as well. But they also need to accelerate the ongoing work on the citrus fruit dossier." (China only considers one dossier at a time).
"At Assomela, we have been thinking about the strategies to adopt as soon as this market opens. We will not be unprepared. We deal with the varieties most popular with Asian consumers, who tend to prefer sweet crunchy fruit."
Apofruit exports around 100 kiwi containers every year. Sales manager Renzo Balestri reports that the company is aiming at "increasing quantities, especially of the Sole Mio brand."
"The Chinese market requires medium grades and oblong shapes. They also prefer golden kiwis, but green ones are still the most popular."
Romina Kamel, from the Apofruit foreign office, stresses that "in China, the market imitates the British one, meaning part of the population has a high purchasing power. The Italian produce is sought after, the problem is that only kiwis can be exported."
Other representatives in Beijing were Valentina Giaccherini from La Trentina, Salvo Laudani from Oranfrizer and Furio Mazzotti from Made in Blu.