The delegation includes citrus growers, packers and exporters from the Sunraysia district, Citrus Australia representatives and staff from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The delegation will spend seven days visiting the two countries, aiming to increase their understanding of the protocol requirements of each nation and creating new export opportunities for the Victorian citrus industry.

The program includes meetings with major Thai and South Korean citrus importers and a visit to South Korea’s citrus producing regions to see the varieties grown, production trends and consumer preferences.

The delegation will also visit wholesale and retail markets to better understand their product positioning compared to major competitors from South Africa and Chile.

DPI Senior Project Officer Market Access and Competitiveness Stephen Baud said South Korea has previously been a major export market.

“South Korea was a significant export market for the citrus industry, but the strict quarantine protocol has made it challenging for Australian exporters to access this market in recent years,” Mr Baud said.

“The most problematic pests for the industry to effectively control have been Fullers Rose Weevil, Red Scale and Queensland Fruit Fly.

“The delegation will meet with the Australian Agricultural Counsellor in both Thailand and South Korea to discuss the current citrus protocols and scope to further improve its workability for growers and exporters,” Mr Baud said.

Citrus Australia, the industry’s representative body, aims to significantly improve access to new export markets over the next five years. Chief Executive Officer Judith Damiani said developing commercial trade into key export markets was crucial for the Australian citrus industry, adding South Korea, China and Thailand are potentially significant markets.

“Developing the South Korean market is so important that we have written it into our new fiveyear

research and development plan and will be dedicating significant industry resources to achieve our goal,” Ms Damiani said.