At the end of January 2016, the two companies released a statement announcing a partnership through which they will grow berries in China ‘to service the rapidly expanding Asian appetite for high quality berries’.

“Varieties will be from Costa, Driscoll’s & MBO programs,” Costa Group’s Michael Toby says.

Costa and Driscoll’s have already established the first berry farm under the agreement, in the Yunnan province, where both blueberries and raspberries are being grown. At the time of their initial announcement, the first raspberry harvest from the farm was already underway.

Toby says fruit will be sent to market as soon as it is ready, and that “small volumes are already in the market” now. “[Our focus is] mainly China, but export opportunities will also be looked at.”

Driscoll’s will market the berries grown through the venture, which builds on a six-year relationship between the two companies. The farming program builds on practises Costa has previously commercialised in Australia, with substrate production occurring under permanent tunnels on the farm.

An additional farming location in another climatic region in China has also been selected; with land preparation and planting scheduled to begin soon.

This approach is designed to yield berries that are of consistently high quality to meet consumer tastes and demand, with Toby saying that “taste, size and shelf life” will set them apart from others on the market in China and help keep up with the increasing demand.

“The Berry category globally continues to be a growth leader in the produce industry due to the associated health benefits, including its being considered a super food,” he adds.

Growing berries within China is also a way to avoid the high costs associated with importing the fruit from Australia, although Toby says that is still an avenue they are pursuing. “Market access from Australia continues to be aggressively pursued but growing Australian genetics within China will only assist driving consumer consumption and aid acceptance of the same berries grown counter seasonal due to their premium qualities.”

For more information, visit: www.costagroup.com.au