SOUTH Australian food and wine will
be showcased in two "one-stop-shop" outlets to be built in China, giving
local producers and exporters direct access to a market of more than
7.6 million Chinese consumers.
The SA produce centres are expected to open in about 18 months and
will give visitors the opportunity to eat, buy and order the
state's food and wine. Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister Gail
Gago, who recently made her first ministerial visit to China, said the
centres would give SA producers and exporters more direct access to
markets in China.
Ms Gago said they would likely feature
restaurants, shops and information and marketing on regions of South
Australia while also operating as a wholesaler to Chinese outlets.
They would focus on food quality and safety and would also provide accreditation to available products.
The
centres will be based in Nanping, with a population of 3.06 million,
and Zhangzhou, with a population of 4.6 million, both in Fujian province
on China's east coast.
The State Government is expected to begin discussions with local producers about their potential involvement in coming weeks.
"Fujian
Province has recognised South Australia's competitive advantage of
premium food and wine, grown and produced in a clean and safe
environment," Ms Gago said. "The Chinese have a burgeoning economy, a
burgeoning middle class that are very interested in quality food ...
(and) want assurances and reliability about the quality and safety of
those products.
"They're interested in basically all our primary produce and also processed foods.
"They love our seafood; fresh fish, abalone and lobster."
The
centres would be paid for and run by the Chinese, in consultation with
SA officials. Ms Gago said there was scope to build more stores if the
first two proved successful.
Her visit to China also explored
opportunities for SA university researchers to partner with the Chinese
on food quality, hygiene training and technology.
"They're very interested in research links to support food quality and hygiene safety standards," she said.
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