Murray River Organics has announced its exports have increased by 27 per cent over FY2019, attributing sales to Chinese customers as the major contributor to the increase, which has more than doubled since the same time last year.
MRG anticipates the increase in export will continue for the rest of FY2020, as the company continues to leverage the increasing demand in China for healthy foods.
Valentina Tripp, MRG CEO, said there is more potential for growth in exports in China, following the company’s recent launch onto WeChat in October.
“WeChat is a very powerful tool used by more than a billion users each month which enables us to communicate directly with Chinese consumers, build brand awareness and share the Australian Organic Dried Vine Fruit provenance story as the largest Dried Vine Fruit Grower in Australia,” said Tripp.
MRG has also re-entered the European market with Australian sultanas now being exported into the baking industries across Germany and Italy.
Ms Tripp said that global demand for organic and conventional dried fruit remains strong, and growing exports has been a major focus for MRG and the industry over the last 12 months.
“We have received great support from Dried Fruit Australia, with its Chairman, CEO and key Board Member, who are also growers, attending trade shows in China, Japan, Vietnam and Germany.
“They have been a great supporter in building international awareness of our high-quality Australian sultanas. The feedback from those trade forums was that demand for Australia’s Dried Vine Fruit will continue to accelerate.”
Earlier in the week, MRG announced it will provide an increase of up to $200 per tonne for its third-party dried fruit growers as part of the company’s Sunraysia Grower Water Support Package for the 2020 crop.
