Reid Fruits has been exporting cherries to Japan since the market opened to the Tasmanian fruit in 2005, but the latest shipment is something special for the company – of 17.5 tonnes of cherries, none were fumigated.
It was only in late 2008 requirements for pre-export fumigation were dropped for Tasmanian cherries, and un-fumigated shipments have only just begun.
The counterseasonal cherries have been fetching A$50 per kg in Japanese markets, reported the North Queensland Register.
The 17.5 tonne shipment is of the Japanese Satonishiki cherry variety, a white-fleshed cultivar developed in Japan in the 1930s.
“Reid Fruits is the only Southern Hemisphere producer of Japanese variety cherries for the Japanese market,” general manager Tim Reid told Fruitnet in December.
“Reid Fruits has been a pioneer in opening the Japanese market for the Tasmanian apple and cherry industries and has been the only Australian exporter of cherries to Japan since the market opened in 2005.”
With a Japanese cherry market estimated at A$300m during the Australian summer, and about 10 per cent of that in winter, Reid Fruits plans to expand its seasonal workforce from 300 to 500 and plant another 30,000 trees, with the aim of increasing exports to 200 tonnes in the next two to three years.
Mr Reid said orders were coming in fast for the fruit. “The Japanese grow cherries during June, July and we’re exporting cherries to Japan when they’re out of season,” he said.
“The Japanese cherry market in June/July is estimated at about A$300m, so we think there is a big opportunity there to develop the market,” he said.
Australia’s trade minister, Simon Crean, said winning improved market access for cherries was an important and symbolic breakthrough for Australia’s trade with Japan.
“With only 40 per cent food self-sufficiency in Japan, the need to import to a 130m-strong consumer market will remain, despite uncertainties in the global trading environment,” Mr Crean said.
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