Taste Australia organized an official opening ceremony for the 2021 Australian stone fruit season in the Guangzhou Jiangnonghui Market on the 10th of December. This is the first activity in a series of activities that Taste Australia has planned for this stone fruit season. Taste Australia is one of the brands under the umbrella of the Australian Horticultural Innovation Association. That association represents all the national brands and marketing projects of the Australian horticultural industry.
One importer at the Guangzhou Jiangonghui Market talked about the product quality of imported stone fruit. "Most of the Australian stone fruit already for sale in the Chinese market are air-freighted nectarines and peaches. Sea-freight nectarines will gradually follow from the last week of December. As for the product quality, the weather conditions earlier this month were cold, but conditions improved in recent weeks, so the product quality is quite alright now. The nectarines are firm and the flavor is slowly maturing too."
"Chinese market demand for Australian nectarines and peaches is stable. The supply volumes are expected to grow in the next few weeks. Australian plums will arrive in January. That is also the time of year when Chinese customers purchase premium fruit as Spring Festival gifts for family, friends, and relations. Market demand is expected to grow stronger during the festive period."
Honored guests cut the ribbon (from left to right): Ouyang Jiahua, director of sales at Guangzhou Jujiang Fruit Industry; Zheng Nanshen, CEO of Guangzhou Jiangnonghui Market Management Co., Ltd.; Chen Zhaoying, commercial attaché of the Australian government (Australian Trade Investment Committee); and Zhong Zhihua, CEO of Guangdong Nanfeng Agricultural Investment Co., Ltd.
The festive ceremony that officially opened the Australian stone fruit season in the Chinese market was attended by several honored guests including Mr. Zheng Nanshen, CEO of Guangzhou Jiangnonghui Market Management, and Ms. Chen Zhaoying, commercial attaché of the Australian government (Australian Trade Investment Committee), as well as fruit importers and retailers from all over the country.
According to Ms. Chen Zhaoying, "China is the main export market for Australian stone fruit. Their export volumes of nectarines, honey peaches, and plums are stable. Australia exported 54% of their stone fruit production volume in the 2020/2021 season to mainland China. That was a total volume of 11,256 tons with a value of 230 million yuan [36 million USD]."
Ms. Chen also emphasized that China and Australia struggled with external factors such as the pandemic and limited shipping capacity, but Australia has always worked hard to expand the Chinese market. "China and Australia have never discontinued their trade relations and the Australian Trade Investment Committee has always supported Australian companies and their strategic partners in the export trade. Australian fruit exporters have deep roots in the Chinese market. The Sino-Australian trade value in 2020 exceeded 751.4 billion yuan [118 billion USD]. Nearly 35% of Australia's international trade involves China."
Lin Juncheng, the China representative of Australian stone fruit exporter LPG Cutri Fruit, who attended the ceremony, also added that the pandemic did affect the cost price of Australian stone fruit export trade, but that the impact was limited. Control over product quality remains key.
According to Mr. Lin: "Chinese market demand for Australian honey peaches and plums has grown stronger in the last few years. Despite the continued pandemic and repeated national lockdowns in Australia, the cost price of export only slightly increased. Market fluctuations remain similar to last year. We have discovered that Chinese consumer demand for premium stone fruit continues to grow, as they are willing to pay more for top-quality stone fruit. That is why product quality control remains key."
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