Australian Organic has appointed a new trade ambassador and facilitator to get organic products into the Chinese market.
The newly appointed Jessica Rudd will use her knowledge of China to help move organic products into China.
Rudd has spent the past five years living in Beijing and says she was often frustrated with the lack of availability of certified organic goods from Australia.
Chinese consumers are increasingly drawn to clean, green, safe imports.
“The Chinese government is doing a great job of lifting people out of poverty and consumers spend big on their children,” Rudd said.
“I’m honoured to be invited to use my China story to help Australian businesses, big and small, taking advantage of the potential for growth into that market. I want to see my Chinese mates gaining access to the fabulous range of high-quality products our country has to offer.”
Australian Organic commercial manager, Joanne Barber, said organics is big business in China.
“China has 1.3 billion people. One certified organic home delivery company there has a customer base of over 400,000 families.
“The biggest barriers to exporting to China are the language and cultural differences.”
Australian Certified Organic already offers certification through China’s most well-known and respected certification company, the Organic Food Development Center (OFDC), and it’s carrying out the first round of audits for Chinese certification in September.
Next month Australian Organic is running Organic Awareness Month, which aims to encourage consumers to purchase at least one certified organic product, and to promote the benefits of organic consumption and production.
Running from 1 to 31 October, the campaign will be split into four sectors:
- Allowed inputs
- garden and farm
- Organic skincare and cosmetics
- Organic beverages
Organic food producers and retailers from each sector will be profiled and their products promoted on a Facebook page. Consumers will be invited to participate in Q&As with certified organic farmers, retailers and Australian Organic ambassadors (chef Pete Evans and There Kerr), as well as participate in a Vote to Win style competition.