Australian citrus exports to China could double this year thanks to a surge in the number of Riverland growers registering to supply the market, reports the Stock Journal.
Citrus Australia market development manager Andrew Harty said producers must register and be certified under Citrus Australia’s Korea-China-Thailand (KCT) programme in order to send fruit to China.
'We know that from the amount of the registrations this year, the volume of exports into China could double,' he told the publication.
Australian citrus exports to China were valued at A$21m in 2013 - A$13m in oranges and A$8.5m worth of mandarins - in a market where Australia had no presence as recently as 2011, according to the report.
Some 9,100 tonnes of Australian oranges were shipped to China from April to December last year - an increase of 288 per cent by volume and 392 per cent in value on the same period in 2012, it said.
Harty said the Chinese market presented a growth opportunity on a scale the industry had never seen before.'It's a market that has many segments, and places a huge value on imported product as it is seen as healthy and safe,' he said.
Citrus Australia's Harty is speaking on the Australian citrus industry's China market strategy at Asiafruit Market Insight in Hangzhou on 28-30 May.
