Tasmanian cherry grower-packer-exporter Reid Fruits has strengthened its ties to the Asian market, signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese construction and retail conglomerate the Jeshing Group.
The non-binding agreement is expected to pave the way for Jeshing to acquire a minority shareholding in the Hobart-based firm. Reid Fruits has previously attracted foreign direct investment from a Japanese company, who remain shareholders within the business.
Tim Reid, managing director of Reid Fruits, said Jeshing’s potential investment would allow his company to extend its cherry production window.
“We want to do some expansion, more around later harvesting cherries in order to extend our sales programmes,” Reid told Asiafruit. “We’ve been in discussions with the Jeshing Group for about nine months now, and the deal is about 90 per cent finalised.”
The MoU was signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Tasmania early last week. Reid hoped the hospitality extended to President Xi and the travelling Jeshing delegates would help fast-track the deal.
“There was an overwhelming number of Chinese business who attended the Tasmanian Investment Conference in Hobart last week and I think this, along with the President’s visit, gave them (Jeshing) a lot of confidence,” Reid said. “Setting up foreign direct investment is always a long process and there is still a little way to go, but things a progressing really positively.”
Reid regards the signing of last week’s landmark free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Australia as another positive step for his company and the Tasmanian cherry industry as a whole.
“The 10 per cent tariff on Australian cherries will be eliminated over four years, which is a sign that things are well and truly headed in the right direction,” Reid explained. “Tasmania exported around 150 tonnes of cherries into China last season, which is very small scale in the scheme of global cherry exports, but with trade conditions improving this volume could double or treble this season.”
