The first containers of Australian vegetables - including Love Beets, a new line of vacuum-sealed baby beetroot - have left for Singapore and Taiwan following a Reverse Trade Mission last month.
The Reverse Trade Mission saw over 40 leading Asian buyers and retailers attend a fresh produce display at the Cairns Convention Centre where they were able to sample Australian growers’ produce.
The Reverse Trade Mission was funded by Horticulture Australia Limited using the National Vegetable Levy with matched funds from the Australian government. According to Ausveg, many negotiations took place on the display floor.
“The speed at which negotiations between Australian vegetable growers and international buyers have taken place has been unprecedented,” said Ausveg national manager, export development, Hayden Moore.
“The Reverse Trade Mission has created unique and new opportunities for export-ready Australian vegetable growers, demonstrating to the wider industry how viable and profitable export can be.”
The 2014 Reverse Trade Mission was an industry-funded project designed to facilitate networking opportunities for Australian vegetable growers and provide them with the tools to allow them to export their produce overseas.
“Feedback suggests that 90 per cent of buyers will increase their purchase of Australian-grown vegetables after attending the Reverse Trade Mission,” said Moore.
“This is a fantastic outcome for the Australian vegetable industry.”
In one example, said Ausveg, a leading Singaporean buyer expressed interest in importing Love Beets, the new line of vacuum-sealed baby beetroot produced by 2014 Innovative Marketing Award winner, One Harvest.
“Value-adding and creating innovative new products are both key to accessing new export markets and making businesses more profitable,” said Moore.
Ausveg and Horticulture Australia Limited will continue to ramp up export opportunities for vegetable growers, with stands at Asia Fruit Logistica, Agritech Japan, and World of Perishables Dubai trade shows.
The stands at these shows will highlight the research and development (R&D) activities of Australian growers to produce amongst the best vegetables in the world.
“It is vital that the industry continues to communicate the R&D which ensures Australian vegetables are safe and of high quality to international buyers and retailers, and to demonstrate these facts first-hand with the produce itself,” Moore said.
One Harvest, which makes Love Beets, was one of the vegetable companies to snare new Asian customers at the Reverse Trade Mission.
