Shipments of Chinese apples will soon be arriving in Australian ports, marking the first time that country has opened its borders to foreign-grown apples, after access was granted to Chinese apples in the middle of last year.
BGP International’s Neil Barker told Fruitnet.com the company had five container loads of Chinese Fuji apples “on the water as we speak”, which are scheduled to arrive in Melbourne on or around 17 January.
Mr Barker said the shipment was an opportunity to test the market and let people see the fruit.
With little around in the way of red apples at present Mr Barker added it was a perfect time to land the fruit in Australia.
“Red apples are in short supply because of small crops this year and the quality of the domestic fruit is not so good,” he said.
The Chinese apple consignment would go straight to the wholesale market, he added, where its reception would depend on how retailers chose to present it.
Owing to strong demand for apples in China, he pointed out prices would not be significantly less than those for domestically grown fruit.
Mr Barker told Fruitnet.com he knew of one other company bringing apples into Melbourne and two companies that will land Chinese apples in Sydney.
He said his company had sourced its fruit from the Shandong and Shaanxi provinces.
Fruitnet.com reported last year that the quarantine measures agreed upon include sourcing fruit from registered orchards within designated areas, orchard control and surveillance, fruit bagging, pressurised air blasting of fruit prior to packing, inspection and remedial action if quarantine pests are detected.
Those steps will be supplemented by an operational system of inspections in China by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) to verify the safety of Australia-bound shipments.
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