Ever since the Australian nectarine industry applied for Chinese market access in 2011, growers have been anxiously waiting on approval from authorities to give the nod. During the iFresh Shanghai Conference this month, www.freshfruitportal.com caught up with Summerfruit Australia CEO John Moore, who had high hopes that access would be granted for Australian white and yellow nectarines in November. 

Moore said the initial export permission application for stonefruit included peaches, plums and apricots, but the slow process led the Australian industry to change its focus to nectarines.

Three years on, the protocol is now "very close", Moore said.

"Our guess was that the Chinese were concerned if they give green light to Australian peaches, the American peach producers will follow suit and apply for market access, which is likely to have a huge impact on the local Chinese peach industry," he said.

"That's why we decided to limit the scope of our application later on to white and yellow nectarines, hoping that the same kind of access could be granted to our plums after we have success with our nectarines with Chinese authorities."

Fruit fly has been a major barrier for the Australian export industry in gaining access to China, and nectarines are no exception.

Moore said Australian authorities have been working with their Chinese counterparts on fruit fly issues, however the last time Chinese officials inspected Australian stonefruit plantations was in December, 2011.

Summerfruit Australia CEO John Moore

"We are anticipating the Chinese officials. If they send out inspection teams in September or October, then the timing is right for them to see how we operate the packing houses. And we anticipate something may be happy for us in November, that we have official access for nectarines."

If export access to China is obtained as expected, Australian producers will begin officially exporting nectarines to the Chinese market beginning from late November or December, and will also focus on preparing for the Chinese New Year period with full commitment.

"Our supply seasons in Australia are exactly the opposite to that in China, so when we prepare our nectarines for export in November or December, we can continue to have abundant supply till March or April next year," Moore said.

"We have many different varieties, and we hope to work closely with Chinese peach industry, especially collaborating with some Chinese universities and research institutes on exchanging IP and breeding ideas, in order to help each other advance their industry."

When asked about which varieties of nectarines would most likely be popular in China, Moore said the main variety of Australian white nectarine is Kay Pearl. Based on the previous performance of Australian nectarines in the Hong Kong market, he predicted all of the five Pearl varieties, including Kay Pearl, as well as Arctic Snow would be well received there.

"The most sought after varieties will include Fire, August, Grand, Bright and Regal Pearl as these are the most popular for eating quality."

Moore showed www.freshfruitportal.com a chart of the harvest seasons of different varieties.

"There're over 50 nectarine varieties in Australia, most of which have a low level of acidity, a juicy sweet taste and are rich in vitamins.  They progressively ripen on the tree as the months go so by the chart you can see they complement each other, so they have a continuity of supply of the same taste all the way through the four to five month season.

As for yellow nectarines, Moore expects a period of adjustment in the Chinese market.

"The yellow nectarines probably are not as popular for the consumers in China but certainly I think when they get used to yellow nectarines they would enjoy them."

Moore explains the purpose of his trip was to find interested retailers, importers and wholesalers, and to spread the news that Australian nectarines were on their way to China.

"We have been participating in many trade fairs in China like this one. Australian nectarines have a soft texture and a juicy taste, they have been very popular at those fairs. Everyone is excited to get official access."

Available volumes

Moore told www.freshfruitportal.com his country produced more than 46,000 metric tons (MT) of nectarines every year, and good volume would be available for the Chinese market.

He said if granted access, growers would seek to ship a good portion of the volume that was of grade one quality, and in turn that would help farmers gain better prices in the domestic market.

"We produce in all of Australia, but the best fruits we send for China would come from Swan Hill in the Sunraysia region, the south-eastern region of Shepparton, the southern are of the Riverland and the town of Young in New South Wales.Those would be the best areas for the quality fruits to go to China, of number one grade, number one quality."

According to Moore, it will take 14 days to ship produce items from Australia to Shanghai by sea.

"We are focusing on the Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian and Guangzhou ports at the moments," he said.

The targeted consumer will be the upper-middle class Chinese in first-tier cities.

"We don't want to try to put fruits to all of China, because that would be crazy. We just concentrate on selected markets, where the consumer buying power is, and for the wealthy middle class to buy Australian fruits.

"As far as I know, over 48% of the consumers in first-tier cities look for imported fruit products, so I'm confident that these consumers will be willing to pay a little premium for Australian fruits."

He further added that even though the application was confined to shipment into the Chinese by sea, the Australian nectarine industry had been researching the possibility of airfreight to China an hoped to gain access to both export channels.

"We Have No Competitors"

Although still not allowed in Chinese mainland, Australian nectarines have been present in the Hong Kong market for years. In the 2012-13 season, Australia exported 5,551 tons of the fruit to Hong Kong, making up 49% of the country's total nectarine exports.

Based on data released by Summerfruit Australia, other export destinations include Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

"We have exported nectarines to many international destinations, but with our large overall production volume, stable supply for the Chinese market is guaranteed," Moore said.

When asked about potential competition, Moore highlighted the relative geographic proximity between Australia and China. In comparison, other South Hemisphere countries like Chile and South Africa are nowhere close.

"It takes our competitors 30 to 40 days to reach China, when it's only 14 days for us by sea and 8 or 9 hours by air. The freshness of our fruits are guaranteed, as it takes 24 to 36 hours by air from other countries to China.

"Australia is the natural springboard for exporting fruits to China," he concluded.

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