The bold plans follow a recent trip to China as part of Gunnedah’s visiting trade delegation.

Mr Hoddle said doubling the amount of exported fruit into the country, from four containers up to possibly eight, offered strong promise for the seasons ahead.

“It means we can really grow that partnership,” he said.

His family-operated Gunnible Pastoral Company trialled its first container load export mid-last year off the back of tariff changes and opportunities from the free trade agreement.

The local exporter hosted a return visit in October by a China delegation buoyed by encouraging talks in the developing trade partnership. 

“We learnt a lot of lessons from last time,” he said.

“It’s not straight forward getting perishables to China. It’s difficult logistically, there's a lot of moving parts but it’s definitely more profitable than the domestic market.

“The key is trying not to go too big.”

Limiting their progression was the lack of dedicated packing facilities locally, forcing the company to look beyond the Gunnedah region.

“If we could do it ourselves here we would,” he said.

The recent trip was Mr Hoddle’s first first to the country and certainly one of the most fruitful, particularly in his understanding of government influence.

“In a country like China, government plays a big role,” he said. “It’s important to have that government-to-government relationship.”

It was an opportune time for Gunnedah’s delegation to visit China as Australia hosted one of China’s most powerful leaders, Premier Li Keqiang.

“It was a very positive environment to talk business,” Mr Hoddle said. “The impression from China is they are really open for business.”

Mr Hoddle also weighed in on Australia’s strengthening trade ties with Japan but said China was his immediate focus.

“We’ve come a long way down the road in China already but we’ll keep on eye on Japan,” he said.

The Australian-Hong Kong relations were also strengthened this month with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed to promote trade, investment, innovation and SME cooperation between the two countries. 

The MOU is a commitment to co-operate and share information on important economic and trade issues, where possible, to improve trade-related opportunities.