China nibbles Australian apple market

Australian consumers should get used to apple imports as they are here to stay, according to one of the Sydney traders involved with importing 400 tonnes of Chinese apples this year. Cos Cremona from Pro Fruit at the Flemington produce markets says the Chinese apples filled a gap between seasons and helped reduce wholesale prices by more than $1.50 a kilogram. "I understand the issues of the growers, naturally they want to protect their own product, which is fine," Mr Cremona said. "But in saying that, I think there's a window, an opportunity that we can import the product from other countries ... and maintain a reasonable price for the consumer. "I think the reality is that we are on the world stage and we can't go backwards. That's life."
New Zealand's successful world trade challenge of Australia's quarantine regulations has ended 90 years of protection for the local industry, but not everyone at the Sydney markets is keen to cash in on cheaper imports. Australia's oldest apple wholesaler, FHG Rogers, has been marketing Australian apples for more than 100 years and is refusing to handle the Chinese fruit. Managing director Paul Barsoum says drought conditions did mean less Australian apples on the market earlier this year, but this was just a convenient excuse for the imports. "This might be the excuse they're using this year, but I think the Australian public has woken up," Mr Barsoum said. "They've seen the fruit around - it's not up to Australian standards, the quality we've been eating - and we don't know the background of the growing conditions for their produce. "We'll support our Australian-based growers - they've been with us for generations.
"Do we really need to consume a product for over a two-week period when we've got other quality products like stone fruit available, Tasmanian cherries, to fill the gap till the new season apples comes along?" Australia's supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths account for about two-thirds of all the apples sold in Australia and have also refused to sell the Chinese imports.