Australian products are quite popular on the Chinese market. The quality is high and transport is quite fast because of the relatively short distance between China and Australia. In February Australian cherries and grapes were entering the Chinese market. For now the grape season is over and David Yang from Royal Fresh International Pty Ltd explains how the last season went: “The grape season has been at a very stable high price level this year. Due to the hot weather in Australia, the season started earlier and it was very hard to get color on the grapes.”
Grape orchard in Australia
“Because it was harder to get some color on the grapes, the volume which met China’s quality requirements, was much less than the year before. There was still some very good quality fruit available, but overall there was not enough supply for this year. The most popular variety for the Chinese market is the Crimson variety. Although other countries also have the Crimson variety available in the same period, Chinese consumers would always prefer Australian Crimson, because these are very sweet and crunchy.”
Orange orchard in Australia
The Australian orange season is now starting as well, and Mr. David Yang will also import Australian oranges to the Chinese market. He gave a short overview of the current market: “Just like the grapes, the Australian oranges were also affected by the hot weather in summer. This year the size of the oranges is generally a bit smaller than usual and some of them are sunburned. In the Chinese market, the Washington variety is very popular. We are not sure when the first Australian oranges will reach the Chinese market, but it has been said that one big citrus company's first container will arrive to China in two weeks time and it will be the early variety: Navelina.”
Royal Fresh International Pty Ltd is an import and export company, which exports fruits from Australia to the Chinese market and exports Chinese fruits abroad. “We mainly export to Shanghai and Guangzhou, where we sell our products in the wholesale markets. However we also supply to some second tier cities, as well as e-commerce companies. For the future we hope to expand the markets we reach in China and find some new ones we can supply our products to. Furthermore, we'll also focus more on collaboration with supermarkets, as we expect them to play a more important role in the fruit industry in the future.”
David Yang
Contact information:
Royal Fresh International Pty Ltd
Email: info@royalfresh.com.au