TOOWOOMBA-BASED tree nut grower, processor and marketer Stahmann Farms Enterprises has launched a new direct marketing e-commerce site in China.

The new platform puts Stahmann Farms' branded retail products front and centre of global cross-border e-trade platform Alibaba's TMall. This allows overseas exporters to sell directly to Chinese consumers.

Stahmann Farms, with bases in Toowoomba and Moree, already sells pecans and macadamias to China in bulk but this new platform will give the brand greater recognition in the Chinese market.

Stahmann Farms CEO Ross Burling said the move was a milestone in the company's distinguished history.

"Now we are taking not only our Australian nuts but also our Australian brands directly to consumers in the world's most dynamic economy," he said.

At the official launch of the site today Toowoomba Surat Basin Enterprise CEO Dr Ben Lyons displayed his linguistic diversity when he translated and spoke in Mandarin during a Skype session with a Stahmann Farms full-time employee in Hangzhou.

Stahmann Farms managing director Matthew Durack said he now felt truly connected to Asia.

"We're (Australia) no longer an island but connected in a real sense by allowing our customers in China to have the same great taste, quality and food safety that those in Australia have enjoyed for half a century," he said.

Mayor Paul Antonio described Stahmann Farms' investment as "the tip of the wedge for the future of the region".

"It is going to be the very beginning of something special when you have people like these guys, like Stahmann Farms, who are prepared to invest and prepared to take some initiative," he said.

"This is a very big day for the Toowoomba region. This is product going direct from the farm and directly into China."