Ripe for Export: New Zealand avocados crack Chinese market

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02:53

China has imported its first batch of avocados from New Zealand. And farmers in New Zealand hope the move is just the beginning of their future trade with China. CGTN's Owen Poland reports.

In New Zealand's Bay of Plenty region, avocado harvesting is in full swing as growers like Peter Marshall rise to the challenge of finding the perfect fruit for export to China.

PETER MARSHALL AVOCADO GROWER "It's a big step forward for the New Zealand industry. China represents a massive opportunity for avocado growers and exporters in New Zealand."

It's taken several years for New Zealand to satisfy China's strict food safety requirements, and hopes are high that the initial fifty thousand trays exported this year will grow to five hundred thousand trays within five years.

JEN SCOULAR, CEO NEW ZEALAND AVOCADO "Consumers love it because you can have avocado for breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can have them as smoothies, you can have them as desserts, so it's a wonderfully versatile fruit that is healthy, really good for you."

Avocados originated in South America, and New Zealand's biggest competition in China is from countries like Mexico and Chile. So, how will New Zealand compete when it charges twice as much for its fruit.

JACOB DARLING, SALES MANAGER JUST AVOCADOS "New Zealand's point of difference is all around quality and we have to be focused on that, as growers, as an industry and as exporters."

OWEN POLAND "The average price of a single avocado reached an all-time high of five dollars earlier this year because of a small harvest and became too expensive. In fact, the fruit's become so popular that thieves are stealing it."

Organised crime rings have been blamed for taking fruit to sell on the black market and some orchards have installed security cameras and wire fences to protect crops. However, the main investment is in new crops to grow an export industry that's currently worth around 200 million dollars to the New Zealand economy.

JEN SCOULAR, CEO NEW ZEALAND AVOCADO "And we're actually now targeting to be a billion dollar industry by 2040, so we are looking at how we might do that, and that will come with significant further investment into the industry."

Before that can happen, growers have to overcome challenges, unique to New Zealand, like how to manage the potential stress on fruit-laden trees that are already flowering in readiness for next year's crop.

PETER MARSHALL AVOCADO GROWER "We've got to have healthy trees, we've got to have well-resourced trees, we've got to have the right amount of moisture in those trees, so there's a whole lot of factors that have to be put in place."

And while the fledgling industry admits it still has a lot to learn, avocados could one day join kiwifruit as one of New Zealand's great horticultural success stories. Owen Poland, in the Bay of Plenty, for CGTN.