Red Rich Fruits (NSW) Limited have exported their season’s first Murcotts to China following their acquisition of three citrus orchards in Gayndah, Queensland.

The orchards, which were purchased for an undisclosed sum in April 2018, primarily produce Imperial and Murcott mandarin varieties.  Managing Director Matthew Palise says export interest has been very strong:

“We have two main mandarin varieties on the orchards, and our Murcott mandarins have been especially popular overseas. We’ve established a program to send the whole crop into China” he said.

“Fruit set this year was great with 70-80% fruit on the trees. We’ve had plenty of cold nights and warm days recently, which have been perfect to bring out a high colour in the fruit, and we’ve been getting some excellent quality right across the orchard” he added.

Murcott harvest commenced in the first week of July, on the back of a very successful first Imperial harvest.

We had a strong start to the 2018 Imperial season, with ideal growing conditions in the lead up to Easter when we started picking. We were seeing consistently good volumes of rain and good sunshine, so were getting great fruit and good size” said Palise.

“Our first crop of Imperial mandarins was all sold domestically, with the bulk of the product selling through Coles” he added.

A leading Australian, family-owned grower, packer and marketer of fresh fruit, the citrus orchard acquisitions have enabled Red Rich Fruits to market their own fruit across three major categories.

Palise says the acquisitions signal a new phase of Red Rich Fruits’ growth:

“We pride ourselves on supply chain integration and see this as a great strategic fit, enabling us to harvest and sell our own fruit year-round, across the pome-fruit, stone fruit and citrus categories” he said.

The properties include 150 hectares of primarily mandarin orchards, grown in good quality alluvial sandy loam soil on the banks of the Burnett River. They also feature a 1530 square metre packing shed, two cool rooms, full irrigation infrastructure, and generous water allocations.

“The properties also incorporate arable land so there’s plenty of room to grow from here” said Palise.