French fruit marketer Blue Whale is expecting big things for its apples in China this year, as its eponymous brand gains recognition in the Chinese fruit trade.
The Montauban-based firm, which began apple trials to China in 2009, has secured weekly season-long (September-April) loadings there for the last two years. But this season Blue Whale expects its exports to China to double.
A new partnership agreement with Loire-based apple cooperative BVL will give Blue Whale the necessary volumes to really develop the market, Blue Whale marketing director Marc Peyres told Fruitnet.
“I believe that the 2014 crop could be the crop where we can really develop our sales there and ship around 200 containers of Blue Whale apples from France to China,” he said. “2014 could be a season of good development in China for us.”
If all goes to plan, and volumes and fruit size meet market requirements, China could become Blue Whale’s largest export-volume market in Asia for apples by the 2014/15 season. But volumes must be supported by promotions and innovation, said Peyres.
