Australia's citrus industry has welcomed a further thawing in trade relations between Australia and China with the publication of a new list of orchards, packhouses and treatment facilities allowed to export to China.
The lists are compiled by the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China (GACC) and include not only citrus but stone fruit, mangoes and cherries.
While changes are usually more regular, this is the first time these lists have been updated since 2020 for stone fruit, mangoes, cherries and 2021 for citrus.
The lists are then published on GACC's website, and those establishments can trade.
Economic boost likely
With picking well underway in most production areas, the CEO of Citrus Australian, Nathan Hancock, said it was good news.
Mr Hancock said the increase in Chinese exporting opportunities would likely result in a substantial economic boost.
"I think it's certainly a sign that the relationships between Beijing and Canberra are improving and these administrative issues are being resolved," Mr Hancock said.
"It hasn't stopped us from trading with China in the meantime.
"It's just meant that probably a few packing sheds and orchards weren't able to when they had an intent, and now they will be able to."
Growers to benefit
Summerfruit Australia's CEO Trevor Ranford said around 110 growers were expected to benefit from the administrative measure made in China.
The export registration process is done on an annual basis by Summerfruit Australia and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, and this information is then supplied to appropriate countries.
But Mr Ranford said because the list was not updated by China, growers had to use the information supplied in the 2019 list.
"So it made it very difficult in the sense that some blocks that had changed and were registered for Vietnam couldn't be used in China because that list wasn't accepted," Mr Ranford said.
During the 2022-23 season, Australia exported 15,000 tonnes of stone fruit, and around 62 per cent went to China.
"I would expect that we will at least maintain that volume level, if not increase it, given we have good quality fruit from October onwards," he said.
