With market access reinstated, Australia’s stonefruit industry is now focused on reclaiming a share of the Thai market.This bid has been supported by a month-long promotional campaign, developed by the Victorian Department of Environment Primary Industries (DEPI).
Launched in April, the campaign provided marketing support to two of the country’s leading stonefruit exporters, Fruitmaster and Montague Fresh, who shipped small volumes of nectarines and plums to the South East Asian nation this season.
Fruitmaster, supplied exclusively by Swan Hill-based grower VF Siciliano and Sons, was able to broker a deal with well respected Thai importer Cititex, which saw fruit sold through a number of Thailand’s leading retailers, including Makro and Tesco.Grower-packer-marketer Montague secured a supply contract with the Central Food Retail Company, which operates 139 Tops supermarket stores across Thailand.
To assist with sales, a launch event was held in Bangkok, which included a cooking demonstration from celebrity Thai chef Thinee, who used Australian summerfruit to create a series of dishes. Over 40 members of the Thai media attended the event.The launch was followed by a month of in-store promotional activity, which included taste testing and the distribution of point of sale materials across 40 stores.
“The Australian nectarines and plums were really well received,” DEPI director of trade and investment, Bryan Balmer, said.“Although Thai consumers had experienced this fruit before, we knew it was important to support the relaunch with some form of marketing. Through our taste testing, we were able to maximise exposure to the fruit over the limited time we had, which sets things up well for a full season into the Thai market next year.”
Opening up
Coming off a small base, Australian stonefruit exports to Thailand had been growing steadily over a five-year period until access was suspended in 2011.The market reopened in February this year, under the proviso that all exports were sent by sea. The requirement means Australian exporters are coy about sending peaches to the South East Asian nation, for fear of them spoiling in transit, however, Balmer doesn’t envisage any such problems for nectarines or plums.
“As the market grows over the next couple of seasons I don’t see the requirement to seafreight as a major problem, as this will be the cheapest way to send substantial volumes anyway,” Balmer explained.“Australia is also in negotiations with Thailand to discuss airfreight, with authorities hoping Thai officials will recognise methyl bromide or irradiation as acceptable treatments.”
Reclaiming ground
Balmer saw no reason why Australia can’t pick up from where it left off over the coming seasons.
“While Thailand was never a huge market for Australian summerfruit, exports were just getting going when we lost access,” Balmer said.“I see a great opportunity for us to grow a solid position in the market again. We know Thai consumers enjoy our fruit, it’s just a matter of keeping things consistent. Thailand is a premium market; consumers are willing to pay a premium price for a premium product, so if we keep this in mind I’m sure we can maintain a presence and develop this into one of our best markets.”
