A government plan to provide regional freight airports in NSW would halve the delivery time for produce grown in Orange, according to cherry grower Fiona Hall.
Mrs Hall has welcomed plans announced by deputy premier John Barilaro for an investigation into creating freight terminals.
She said if Orange Regional Airport was chosen it could reduce the time it took to “pick, pack and send” cherries and other fruit from Orange to key south-east Asian markets from 48-72 hours down to 24 hours.
“It is all about the timing of getting to the market before our competitors,” she said.
Currently, trucks take the fruit from the packing and processing shed on her property, Caernarvon, to Sydney airport. She said about 1300 tonnes of cherries were transported across the annual six-week cherry season bound for Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia and China. …read more