Stonefruit growers from Murcia are asking their regional government to help them target the Asian marketplace.
Producers association ASAJA Murcia has asked the farm ministry for the south-eastern Spanish region to start administrative and plant-health processes to open up the new markets.
Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca, secretary general of the association said: “The Asian market offers great opportunities for consumption of our fruits but it is a fundamental priority to start the necessary proceedings and look to achieve an excellent commercial position.”
Murcia’s current main markets for its stonefruit lines are in Europe but Gálvez believes that Asian countries, and even the US, could be lucrative and complementary markets.
He added: “Consumers in China and Japan value quality very much and they are prepared to pay for it. That’s why we should really strive to enter these markets as soon as possible and so improve added value on returns to growers.”
He concluded that once access had been gained, an intense promotional campaign would be needed to reach Asian consumers that would require support from the Spanish national and wider EU authorities.
