“This deal will enable us to plant more fruit, employ more people and give greater security and certainty to those Tasmanians we already employ,’’ Mr Clark said. Asahi  Beverages  has …

“This deal will enable us to plant more fruit, employ more people and give greater security and certainty to those Tasmanians we already employ,’’ Mr Clark said.

Asahi  Beverages  has  taken  a  major  decision  to  support  Tasmanian  farmers by  buying 50,000  kilograms  of  locally  grown  raspberries  each  year  and  stopping  its  imports  from Poland.

The  Tassie  raspberries will  be pressed and  processed at  the  historic  Cascade  Brewery  in Hobart.  Some  of  the  juice  concentrate  will  be  used  in  Tasmania  for  Mercury  Cider  while the  rest is  sent to  the  mainland  to  be  turned  into  Spring  Valley  fruit  juice,  Cottee’s  cordial, and  Pop  Tops, which  are  also  Asahi  Beverages’ brands. 

 All  the  raspberries  will  be  sourced  from  the  family-owned  Westerway  Raspberry  Farm, one  hour  north-west  of  Hobart. Asahi  Beverages’  General  Manager  Procurement,  Dave  Baxter,  said  the  switch  to Tasmanian  grown  raspberries  had  been  made  because  of  their  quality, their  more reliable  supply  and  Asahi’s  commitment  to  supporting  Australian  farmers.