In the first tour of its kind, ten citrus growers have just returned home to Griffith after embarking on their study of the Chinese market.
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The trip aimed to help the MIA enter their market, an initiative supported by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).
Fresh off the plane from China, Griffith and District Citrus Growers Association secretary Vito Mancini said the delegation saw first hand how the Chinese consumers' preference is being met by their local production.
Our brief introduction of our region has sparked a lot of interest but has cautioned growers and pack houses that we are late to the party.
- Vito Mancini
"We saw some extremely high quality local products that rival and in some cases, exceed our specifications," Mr Mancini explained.
With Australia only having two or three major brands, Griffith and the Riverina are not yet represented in the marketplace.
"Our brief introduction of our region has sparked a lot of interest but has cautioned growers and pack houses that we are late to the party," Mr Mancini said.
"We will have to invest in high quality sweet production and support this with generous marketing to establish a relationship with the consumer."
He said quite notable was the Chinese brands such as Chu Cheng successfully doing this by marketing "visually poor looking" citrus at high prices.
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Importance seemed to be placed on engaging the consumer with a back-story, as well as a commitment to have the sweetest, juiciest citrus in the marketplace.
DPI's International Engagement team organised the itinerary to develop the best strategies for our local citrus industry in China for the trip, with Austrade providing a grant for Free Trade Agreement Market Entry.
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