Rijk Zwaan is keen to showcase its tomato offering at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong next month, as evidence grows that the popularity of specialist varieties is on the rise in the region.
In the Chinese city of Guangzhou, Guangzhou Bobby Agriculture grows Rijk Zwaan’s tomato specialities on 35 hectares, with these tomato types becoming increasingly popular among Chinese consumers according to Bobby AGriculture's Tommy Qu.
“We grow various tomato types, including mini loose, mini truss, large loose and truss,' said Qu. 'We have chosen Rijk Zwaan varieties such as Operino RZ, Florantino RZ, Genery RZ, Vacetto RZ, Senserno RZ and Tatami RZ.
'Their advantages include good flavour, a high brix, a good balance of sweetness and sourness, and an attractive appearance and shape,' he explained. 'The demand for these kinds of specialities has been rising rapidly in China.”
According to Qu, the specialist tomato products are also much appreciated by online and offline business partners.
'We have differentiated our market strategy for these two markets,' he outlined. 'For the offline business we are working with major traditional high-end retailers, such as Carrefour, Walmart, Lotus and Ole’, covering 200 stores in southern and south-eastern China. For the online business we have just started collaborating with JD.com, a top online business company, in April this year. The online business will cover Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.”
Qu added that his company valued its close collaboration with the Rijk Zwaan team, and said he was keen to collaborate even more closely with the group in the future, such as by doing earlier trials of the new varieties.
