Australia shippped its first consignment of red grapefruit to Japan last weekend after nearly six years of negotiations, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The 20 metric tonnes (MT) consignment came from the Kimberley's Ord Valley in Western Australia and will take 20 days to arrive in Japan.

Grower Lachlan Dobson said he expected the grapefruit to be in as good as condition when it arrives in Japan as it was when it left Australia, the story reported.

"Our fruit quality from harvest this year has been very good, we've got good external color and it's pretty much blemish free," he was quoted as saying.

"The grapefruit will hold in a fridge at 5°C (41°F) for a month or two, there's no breakdown,so that's not an issue, the cold storage."

Dobson said that if the introductory consignment of grade one domestic fruit is well received then up to 150MT could be sent for the season.

"We are targeting Japan because they are a big red grapefruit consumer, they know what the fruit is all about. Hopefully our fruit meets their expectations and, perhaps, even exceeds them."

He said he was optimistic the initial consignment would lead to larger exports to Japan over a six to seven month period.

He added his company was already exporting red grapefruit in significant volumes to Russia with some shipments to Hong Kong and he was exploring opportunities in mainland China.

Western Australia's Department of Agriculture and Food official Peter Johnson, said the introductory shipment was significant for the industry.

"It's extremely important because the domestic market in Australia is not strong for grapefruit and to have this window into the biggest market in the world is a really good launching pad to build a large industry," he was quoted as saying.

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