Australian Stonefruit Grower Magazine Issue 3 December 2016 | Page 4

I recently spent over a month in China overseeing the start of Australian trade . It was an extremely busy but , I think , a very productive time .

Summerfruit CEO ' s Report

Growing trade with China

I recently spent over a month in China overseeing the start of Australian trade . It was an extremely busy but , I think , a very productive time .

JOHN MOORE is CEO of Summerfruit Australia Ltd . P : 02 6041 6641 ; M : 0419 305 901 ; E : ceo @ summerfruit . com . au Postal address : 8 / 452 Swift St , Albury NSW
iFresh Trade Show , Beijing
The iFresh trade show in Beijing was held on 14 – 16 November . It was extremely well attended ; 18,000 visitors on day one , another 12,000 on day two and 5,500 on day three . This was the first opportunity to really showcase Australian nectarines – in this case supplied with the special assistance of the Beijing embassy , T & G Global and the Australian Riverland producer .
The event was featured on CCTV , Fresh Plaza , and more widely . The exposure for Australian fruit was excellent , and added further to awareness that was already at a high !
Our mascot in China is “ Mr Nectarine ”. He has been an excellent advertising tool and has really captured the Chinese imagination . Even the Hon Luke Hartsuyker ( Assistant to the Deputy Prime Minister ) did a special Facebook video with Mr Nectarine to post to his personal Facebook page . If every photo taken of Mr Nectarine was worth 100kg of fruit , there wouldn ’ t be a nectarine left for Australian supermarkets .
Our mascot in China is “ Mr Nectarine ”. He has been an excellent advertising tool and has really captured the Chinese imagination .
Huizhan Market , Shanghai
The Huizhan Market is home to all of Shanghai ’ s importers . We had a walk through the markets with Mr Nectarine , handing out Riverland fruits . This was a real showstopper , with enthusiasm really reaching fever pitch .
The much-awaited first commercial shipment arrived the following day . This was also the first test of the Chinese inspection system , and it went through without a hitch .
4 Australian Stonefruit Grower | December 2016 summerfruit . com . au