NZ's avocado sector set up well for the future
Outgoing chief executive of New Zealand Avocado, Jen Scoular believes the sector is well set up despite a challenging environment for growers around the globe.
This brings New Zealand much closer to supplying fresh avocados to China for the first time.
“We know the market is huge from a volume perspective,” NZ Avocado chief executive Jenny Scoular told Rural News.
“But what our exporters are working through now is how collectively to ensure we create or develop a niche market for NZ avocados. We don’t have a significant volume in the whole of NZ so we must create a high value market for avocados.”
The next step before trade starts is an audit this month by the Chinese authority AQSIQ and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
“A protocol has been signed and needs to be audited so the China AQSIQ will send their technical experts on December 18-23 to ensure our growers and packhouses in the supply chain are able to meet the requirements of the protocol,” Scoular explains.
“Our Ministry for Primary Industries also has an audit to make sure they are comfortable giving assurance that our industry can meet the protocol from China.
“An audit from our New Zealand team and the Chinese team [will] make sure we can meet that protocol. When that has happened we will be able to export to China.”
MPI director-general Martyn Dunne says securing export access for our avocados into China is NZ’s top horticulture priority.
In the 2016-17 season, the avocado industry set a record – exceeding $200 million from 7.9m trays.
Avocado exports will join NZ’s other fresh fruit exports to China -- apples, kiwifruit, cherries, plums, citrus and persimmons.
Dunne says the progress towards avocado access into China shows strength of collaboration and positive, respectful relationships.
