A recent collaboration amongst Tasmanian fruit growers has resulted in a container of Tiger Fuji apples successfully exported to Taipei.

Scott Bros, Pinnacle Fine Foods and well known fruit exporter Hansen Orchards joined forces to deliver the apple, which be sold through local retail stores.

CEO of Fruit Growers Tasmania Peter Cornish said, while the apple business is quite challenging at the moment, Tasmanian fruit growers have drawn on their ingenuity and grit to identify new commercial pathways. 

“The Tiger Fuji variety is a great eating apple that is owned by Scott Bros and has been grown here in Tassie for around 10 years,” Mr Cornish said.

The cool temperate Tasmanian climate allows fruit to stay on the tree for longer to fully develop flavour, size and colour. This enables this particular variety to store well, making it ideal for export.

Scott Bros and Pinnacle Fine Foods worked together to jointly supply the export apples into the Taiwanese market, ensuring there was a sufficient volume of large sized quality fruit. 

The first container was exported from Scott Bros in the Huon valley in July and the second from Pinnacle Fine Foods in the Tamar Valley. 

To launch the Tiger Fuji apples as part of the mid-autumn festival in Taiwan, an instore marketing campaign was arranged by Hansen Orchards. 

The marketing activities included apple displays, in-store tastings and social media posts by local social media influencers. 

Additional promotional support was provided by Fruit Growers Tasmania with support from the international apple co-promotion program run by Horticulture Innovation Australia. 

To coincide with the second container arriving, Andrew Scott from Scott Bros visited Taipei retail stores to speak with the retailers and their customers about the product

 “There was significant interest in our fruit, and I was pleased how wel lour apples compared with others I saw. Ours looked and tasted fresh and crisp to the bite,” Mr Scott said.

“I think the only barrier to us having success in the Taiwan market is the import tariff of 20 per cent on Australian apples. It’s a huge cost disadvantage and one that many of our competitors, such as New Zealand, don’t face.”

Taiwan imports about 135,000 tonnes of apples each year. These are largely imported from the United States of America, New Zealand, Chile and  Japan. 

Tasmania has export access to Taiwan due to our pest free area status, which means we are not required to undertake phytosanitary treatments.

 “This is a tremendous example of grower collaboration and hats off to these growers who keep finding a way. As an industry body, we will keep supporting their efforts by promoting Tasmanian fruit and its outstanding quality and taste,” Mr Cornish said.