Another cherry fraud in Aussie products in Hong Kong/China has emerged after nearly 200 boxes of premium Aussie cherries were allegedly substituted with inferior cherries.
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It is the second time in two years a Tasmanian cherry exporter has been targetted by fraudsters.
Cherries are in high demand in China at the moment as people get set to celebrate Chinese New Year.
Australian premium wine including Penfolds has been substituted as well in the past. Chinese authorities have been very good in chasing down and arresting alleged product fraudsters.
A security industry web story said: "Customs officers in Hong Kong have seized premium cherries claiming to be from a major Australian producer but which were actually counterfeits.
"The 196 boxes claiming to be 43° South cherries - a brand owned by top Tasmanian producer Hansen Orchards - were seized from a fruit seller in the Yau Ma Tei area of Hong Kong. A 41-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with the incident.
"Hansen sells its cherries mainly in 1kg and 2kg packs under the 43° South and Hansen Gold brands, with the larger size typically retailing for HK$400 to $HK600 (around $52 to $77) each.
"The Yau Ma Tei vendor was selling them for between HK$300 and HK$450 ($39 to $58), according to the South China Morning Post, which said police believe the vendor substituted the cherries with cheaper fruit.
"The fruit - weighing almost 400kg and worth more than HK$80,000 - has been sent to a government lab for analysis. In previous incidents the packaging was also found to be counterfeit, rather than reused genuine packaging, but it's not yet clear what occurred in this case.
"Two years ago the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) acknowledged the problem of counterfeiting of cherries, saying it was working with Chinese importers to try to tackle the trade as tariffs on fruit exports to China dropped.
"Prior to that some sources were estimating that counterfeit Tasmanian cherries were outselling the genuine fruit by a factor of five to one."
Two years ago, Reid Fruits cherries were the subject of a fraud.
The fakes were being sold at the same price as authentic Tasmanian cherries, it was reported at the time.
Reid Fruits then incorporated QR code technology into its export cartons.
John Ellicott
journalist and author
journalist and author
