Citrus Exports

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (14:57): My question is to the Minister for Investment and Trade. Can the minister inform the house of the progress being made to develop new markets for citrus in China?

The Hon. M.L.J. HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Minister for Investment and Trade, Minister for Defence Industries, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:58): I thank the member for her question about our exports. Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Impi Highland in Renmark. Impi is a citrus producer and packing company established by the Cant family in the 1960s, harvesting grapefruit, easy-to-peel mandarins and navel oranges from a 500-hectare property (including 100 hectares under orchard) at Lindsay Point in north-west Victoria, as well as sourcing supply from a further 100 hectares nearby.

The company has grown significantly since its formation, and the family now harvests 6,000 tonnes of fruit, half of which is exported to premium markets in China, Japan and the US, and the other half of which is distributed to Coles and Woolworths. Two years ago, Impi Highland moved to a new $5.5 million packaging plant at Renmark which is equipped with the latest in citrus technology.

I was particularly impressed with the focus Impi has on exports, to China in particular. It was great to be in a business that was literally booming and could barely meet supply. It is an absolutely fantastic success story and one that needs to be heralded. Here we have a company which is investing in technology and equipment to meet the stringent export requirements in relation to size and quality, a family-run business which is a shining light for others to follow. It is a market which is rapidly growing to the point where Mr Cant says the demand is literally exceeding supply: he can't get enough fruit to export.

Companies such as Impi's are also greatly appreciative of the government's work in keeping South Australia fruit fly free, and it was wonderful to see the positive feedback during the recent Riverland cabinet where the government was congratulated for its efforts in that regard, particularly my colleague the Minister for Primary Industries. Our fruit fly control in this state is world-class and positions us well for most markets. It is a credit to the vigilance of the staff at PIRSA, who staff the roadblocks. I look forward to the Department of State Development working with companies such as Impi to take advantage of export opportunities and importantly create jobs and wealth in the South Australian regions.

Mr WHETSTONE: Supplementary, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Supplementary, member for Chaffey.