Summerfruit given access to China this season, first new market in 20 years

Australia has finally won access for summerfruit, air freighted into China, for nectarines.

Summerfruit has not had any new markets opened for the last two decades, leading to low prices on the domestic market for stone fruit.

“Access to this market will deliver very practical and commercially viable export opportunities to Australian nectarine producers,” said Louise Van Meurs, the first assistant secretary of Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.

“The implementation of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) means that from 1 January 2017, Australian nectarines will face a tariff of only four per cent in China, down from 10 per cent prior to entry into force of ChAFTA.”

It was welcome news for Summerfruits Australia’s John Moore.

“It’s really going to blow the industry apart as far as the big boys (large producers) to China, and the mums and dad (smaller scale fruit growers) will get better prices on the domestic market,” he said.

Mr Moore said in the past, the pest Queensland and Mediterranean fruit flies were treated with a “one glove fits all approach”.

“This time it’s separated, we’ve got a treatment for med-fly and treatment for q-fly, and it’s really opened up the doors,” he said.

Mr Moore said the Chinese market could buy up to 15,000 tonnes of fruit, about a quarter of the total amount of nectarines produced.

The Horticultural Exporters Association and Summerfruit Australia have welcomed the news, saying that the stone fruit industry has been suffering market failure and this provides a glimmer of hope for the growers.

The exports join other Australian fruit; citrus, table grapes, mangoes and Tasmanian cherries.

Source: ABC Rural News – https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2016-05-23/summerfruit-wins-access-to-china-first-new-market-20-years/7436356

Author: By Sarina Locke and Warwick Long

Image: Image by Alicja from Pixabay