New Zealand's avocado industry is thinking about the next step after a breakthrough in exports to China. Several years of trial shipments and rigorous testing procedures led to the first commercial shipments in early October. Growers like Peter Marshall from the fertile Bay of Plenty region have been confirmed in their belief that China ‘represents a massive opportunity for avocado growers and exporters in New Zealand’.
In the 2018 season, New Zealand expects to send around 50,000 trays of Class I fruit to China, but industry leaders says that it is just the beginning. The aim is to be exporting 500,000 trays within five or six years.
News.cgtn.com reports that much will depend on good marketing. New Zealand avocados will cost double what Chinese consumers currently pay for fruit from South American countries like Mexico and Chile.
