AU: Citrus growers look forward to Japanese growth
Citrus producer and marketer, Costaexchange, is anticipating exports of oranges and mandarins worth somewhere in the region of $12.5 million to Japan in those months alone.
The company's citrus divisional manger, Richie Roberts, said the Australian fruit had a very good sugar content, which helped to pitch against the competition.
In a usual year Australia supplies Japan with over a million 20kg cartons of citrus, worth in the region of $25 million.
Mr Roberts said that the Japanese market was extremely important for Australian growers. he pointed out that the USA was also a big market for citrus products, but he said this was a contracting market, "driven more by price points than by taste."
A Japanese film crew was in the Riverland region last week to film a TV commercial for a large supermarket chain.
"The supermarket chain features a different country every month and this July it will be about our citrus," Mr Roberts said.
"It is a relationship we have built up with the customer over the years based on confidence and trust because trust and relationships are so important with Asian buyers.
"We've been dealing with them for 10-15 years and each year the relationship grows and the volume has really increased in the past four to five years."
Source: www.adelaidenow.com.au
