Melbourne, 13 DECEMBER 2016 – Montague, Australia’s leading producer and distributor of stonefruits, packed the first sea freight nectarine export order for China at the Narre Warren packing facility today, following the agreement to the new import protocol for nectarines into Mainland China.
Australian nectarines gained access into China in May 2016 after thirteen years of negotiation between Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA), Federal Departments of Agriculture, Summer Fruit Australia and the Chinese Government.
As the 2016-17 summerfruit season begins, the horticulture industry expects the Chinese demand for stonefruits to rise to as much as cherries, China’s fastest growing import, which totaled 94,288 tonnes* in 2014/15 season.
Rowan Little, Montague Fresh General Manager Business Development, says: “The introduction of the new export protocol to China presents a huge opportunity for the local horticulture industry. We are thrilled to have support from the Victorian Government Business Office, our network of growers in regional Victoria and distributor partners in China. We believe we will be able to supply the highest quality nectarines to the Chinese population.”
The Montague team visited markets, retail outlets, and potential customers in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in September 2016 to build strong customer relationships and to understand the diverse markets within China. Montague has since created a targeted marketing strategy to raise awareness and understanding of nectarines while supporting the Chinese distributors through social media channels such as WeChat.
The Montague family has been growing fruit for the Australian market since 1948.
The organisation has been exporting stonefruit and apples to various markets throughout the world since its establishment. Today, Montague exports apples as far as Europe and the UK and stonefruit to countries including the Germany, the UAE, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
- ENDS –
*Figures from 2014/15 season of China Imports of cherries. China Customs; Fresh Intelligence analysis
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