Au Australia Tasmania cherries cherry on branch

Tasmania is the only Australian state with direct airfreight access into China for cherries

Tasmania has moved to strengthen its export ties with China through a memoriam of understanding (MOU) with the People’s Republic’s Shaanxi province.

The agreement will have a particular focus on supporting the growth of Tasmania’s fresh fruit export industry. Tasmanian growers are set to benefit from the exchange of industry specific skills and technologies, facilitated visits between relevant government departments, and the enhanced communication between state and province.

An international school of fruit industries will also be established to train growers across all aspects of the fruit industry, while Chinese investment in the Tasmanian horticultural sector is likely to increase substantially as a result of the MOU.

Australian firm WinWorld has played a leading hand in brokering the partnership between the Shaanxi and Tasmanian governments, with its Nourifarm Direct platform to serve as a facilitator of transport and intelligence between the two parties. WinWorld’s managing director, George Wang, says his company is intent on maximising returns for Tasmanian export sales to China.

“China is a highly competitive environment, especially for smaller producers who can be overwhelmed by the cost of taking products to market,” Wang explains. “Nourifarm is about streamlining and simplifying the export process for Australian producers, who derive direct benefits from our reputation for quality assurance within China and also for enabling them to bring products into the country and onto the market more efficiently and cost-effectively.”

Coinciding with his attendance at the G20 summit in Queensland, Chinese President Xi Jinpingwas on hand to witness the signing of the MOU between government officials from both region’s earlier this week. In a further vote of confidence for Tasmania’s fresh produce industry, Xi took the opportunity to visit growers in the island state on Tuesday (18 November).

To complement the signing of this MOU at state level, WinWorld will sign their own agreement with Shaanxi Enterprises on 19 November in Sydney.

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