Zespri is a step closer to securing access to its own Chinese production base, following the announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MoU)with the Shaanxi Provincial Government, the New Zealand Herald has reported.
The agreement will allow Zespri to assess kiwifruit varieties grown in the Shaanxi region while also trialling production at two sites.
With China set to overtake Japan as Zespri’s largest country market within the next four years, Zespri has been examining the prospect of establishing its own production hub in the People’s Republic for some time now. However, Zespri chief operating officer, Simon Limmer,said the company would do the necessary due diligence before committing to a full-scale project.
“It's a step in that direction but we are still along way away from having the surety that food safety, quality and the likes can be guaranteed,' Limmer told the New Zealand Herald. 'Those are obviously the essential elements when it comes to putting the Zespri brand on it.”
The partnership between Zespri and the Shaanxi Government will also see the construction of a research centre in Hanzhong, which will promote scientific collaboration between the two entities.
Shaanxi is a key production hub for China’s kiwifruit industry, which produces around 1.3m tonnesnationally per year, according to the New Zealand Herald.
'It's important for us to cement these relationships in a formal kind of way,' Limmer said. 'It's obviously a starting point for us and they also have a well organised kiwifruit sector with government support, and with research and development institutes.”
