Consumer awareness of Australian lychees is expected to grow in Malaysia this summer, with the tropical fruit set to be the feature of a promotion launching later this month.
The programme will be delivered by Malaysia importer and wholesaler Euro-Atlantic, who will run in-store tastings across eight retailers in Kuala Lumpur, including major supermarket chains Cold Storage and Aeon.
Euro-Atlantic has helped develop the promotion alongside the Australian Lychee Growers Association (ALGA), Martin Walker of the Sun Lychee marketing group and the participating retailers. Horticulture Inovation Australia and Trade & Investment Queensland (TIQ) have also lent their support to the programme.
TIQ’s trade and investment officer, Judy Noller, hoped the tastings would expose consumers to lychees that have been immediately packed and airfreighted under tight cool chain management, ensuring maximum freshness at the point of sale.
While Malaysia is a developed lychee market, most of the fruit is imported mid-year from nearby countries such as China, Thailand and Taiwan by either road or sea.
“While Australian lychees have been going to Malaysia for some time in the form of spot sales, this will be the first fully co-ordinated programme initiated by the ALGA and its partners Horticulture Innovation Australia and TIQ,” explained ALGA president Derek Foley. “It links together an Australian exporter with a Malaysian importer, to not only sell Australian Lychee into Malaysia but to promote and grow sales into this emerging market.”
While an unusually cool Queensland winter has delayed the start of harvest, the promotion is expected to start in the last week of this month and run over January. Australian lychee production is centred around the coast and hinterland of Queensland and northern New South Wales, with exports traditionally running between December and February. The wide range of varieties grown in Australia gives local exporters the world’s longest trade window.
