Australian Stonefruit Grower Magazine Issue 3 December 2016 | Page 5

CEO ' s Report

Mr Nectarine proved extremely popular with the crowds visiting the i-Fresh trade show in Beijing .
The fruit arrived chilled and fresh and was all sold within the next few days . A specially arranged Riverland pallet was the first e-commerce fruit on-line . " New Australian nectarines , sweet and crunchy ". The price is 5 pieces for 99 Yuan , or $ 3.93 per piece of fruit
I put in an order for some Australian nectarines that had been advertised online and coming from Guangzhou . It cost 180 Yuan ($ 35.80 ) for 12 pieces of fruit . As you can see from the picture at right , these nectarines were unfortunately small , poor quality fruit .
Jiangnan Market , Guangzhou
This is the largest fruit and vegetable market in Asia . The fruit section alone is over 20ha . There are hundreds of traders , who sell produce from here to more than 30 different Chinese provinces .
Around 80,000 containers of fruit enter China each year and 60 % of these arrive through Guangzhou . Certainly , it is the major route into China , whether through the official route or across the Hong Kong border .
There is no doubt it has been a difficult start to the season for all Australian stonefruit producers . Cool , wet weather has delayed fruit maturing , and kept sugar levels low . Some of the major exporters have delayed sending fruit as a result .
Online advertisement for Australian nectarines , price is $ 3.93 per piece of fruit .
Australian nectarines sold online and home delivered in China . summerfruit . com . au December 2016 | Australian Stonefruit Grower 5