Political unrest in Thailand has failed to dim consumer demand for Queensland mandarins this season.Growers and exporters from the Australian state ran a promotion in the South East Asian nation for the second straight year, and against all odds, continued to grow exposure for their offering.
“Initial responses from the promotional programme for Queensland mandarins indicate another successful season despite sluggish economic conditions and a lack of consumer confidence due to recent political situation in Bangkok,” explained Nandini Bose from Trade Investment Queensland, who assisted the growers in coordinating the promotion. “Thai consumer confidence was at 14 month low and only started picking up after the military took control in May 2014.”
This year’s promotion was run across 83 retail stores, 58 of which were in Bangkok, and a further 25 stores in second tier cities such as Phuket, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Nakhon Ratchasima.
Along with similar activity to last year’s programme, which focused on in-store tasting and the distribution of sales materials, this year’s promotional spend also included mandarin information and training session for fruit handlers and retail managers.
“These sessions covered off on where and how the fruit is grown, packed and shipped; how best to handle and present the product at a retail level,” said Michael McMahon, managing partner of Abbotsleigh Citrus, one of the exporters involved in the programme. “The sessions also provided an opportunity for the retail staff to meet the growers and ask specific questions about our mandarins.”
Abbotsleigh sold over 300 tonnes of Murcott mandarins into Thailand this season, making it one of the company’s key markets. McMahon expects the promotional spend will only heighten demand over the coming seasons.
“We have not yet seen the sales figures for 2014 but I can say that at the stores we visited it was great to see the mandarins on display and the amount of people who sampled and enjoyed them,” he explained. “One supermarket employee was quoted as saying that 100 per cent of the people who try the Murcott mandarins go on to purchase them.”
