Vertical integration.

They need processing, packaging & transport to ship goods straight back to China.

"On Saturday, I drove along the Canola Highway from Grong Grong to Old Junee. Somewhere along the route is a large sign advertising a joint Australia-China agricultural project. None of China's massive interest in Australian agriculture is particularly secret."

I grew up in Junee - please please please can we sell it to the chinese, and please can they pack it all up and take it to China with all its resident ferals. Please!

The TWB grapevine suggests that there will be maybe three freighter flights a week from Wellcamp to "China" in the foreseeable future.

Thank you, Trevor.
Your post lightened an otherwise dull day.

I then read a little earlier that somebody had screamed 'racist' in an attempt to draw attention to his point of view.
We need more people like that. :ok:

Funny that the fruit growers are facing water restrictions, because the Murray River is starting to flood. Lock 7 (upstream from Renmark) has all the boards out & water is flowing straight through. Lock is expected to be completely submerged in two weeks. Hope to see it this coming weekend!

DF.

Significant resent improvements around 90% allocation at the moment, had been desperately lower a few months back with advice that some grape growers may need to consider their future.

There are many grape growers considering just walking off their properties because they can't sell their grapes.

DF.

It is wine grapes that are in over supply and the Chinese don't want our wine, not yet anyway.

Things went belly up thanks largely to a massive increase in plantings by major corporations cashing in on the boom 15 years back. Couple that with our high production costs compared to our South African and South American competitors and the over allocation of water rights which had to be pulled back and thus drove water prices through the roof. This combination has resulted in wine grape production being borderline viable. The big corporate wine grape growers had the links to secure winery contracts but the small grape grower was often unable to secure a contract.

When this scenario plays out often all you can do is turn the tap off and sell your water.

Malthusian principles of greed I guess.

There was a proposal some years back by local Sunraysia business people to extend one of the RWYs at Mildura to take up to 747 sized aircraft, both to theoretically fly local fruit produce including from S.A. direct to overseas markets, and fly in tourists.

The parties then became aware that it wasn't simply a RWY extension exercise, but an upgrade of the airport to international standard was required, with the associated Customs, AQIS & Immigration presence, airport security upgrade etc. etc., and the proposal died.

However the Chinese would probably have the money to make this all happen somewhere if they deemed it worthwhile :)