LAST year, David Thomas led a mission of 23 Australian citrus growers to China. What they learned there is illustrative of the challenges and opportunities that China presents for the Australian agricultural sector.
Three years ago, citrus growers were digging up orchards, but China has come on-stream for citrus in a way that could permanently change the citrus industry if it plays its cards right.
China uses well over a million tonnes of citrus a year, Mr Thomas told delegates at the recent BeefEx conference, but much of it comes from polluted sources. Australia produces about 350,000 tonnes of oranges every year of which only about 8000 tonnes currently goes to China.
“We laid some of these numbers down in front of the Chinese importers, and they said they could take the whole 350,000 tonnes - in fact, they could take double that.”
“They said they had the money to invest in the supply chain; so how do you double production?”
The citrus mission changed the attitude of the 23 participating growers in ways that Mr Thomas thinks are applicable to any agriculture sector looking to China.
At the start of the mission, the growers saw each other as competitors. By the end, they realised that only by collaborating could they hope to deliver the volumes that would make them serious players in the Chinese market.
“Brand Australia” is all-important to Australia’s drive into China.
“When the Chinese look at an Australian orange, they don’t actually care what the brand is, or who produced it,” Mr Thomas said.
“They care about only one thing: does it come from Australia? We have to get a lot better at promoting the Australian brand.”
“As the Chinese become more sophisticated, there may be more scope to develop individual brand propositions, but for now it’s all about Australia. We have to just give into that, and be consistent in delivering that safe, quality, tasty message.”
Matthew Cawood
National writer for Fairfax Agricultural Media.
National writer for Fairfax Agricultural Media.
