Australian table grapes headed to South Korea

The arrival of Australian table grapes in South Korea has marked the opening of a valuable trade market for Australian growers. Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, said “Coupled with the recently signed Korea Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA), this is fantastic news for our $200 million a year table grape export industry.”

L-R: Australian Table Grape Association chief executive Jeff Scott, Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Bill Paterson PSM, Jinwon importer/chief executive Mr Chang-Hwa Oh, Australian Table Grape Association chairman Richard Lomman, Senior Trade Commissioner, Austrade, Australian Embassy Seoul Brett Cooper and Agriculture Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Seoul Joanne Pearce.

Once KAFTA is ratified, the import tariff for Australian table grapes will drop from 45 per cent to 24 per cent during the months of December to April, and these tariffs will be eliminated over five years.

Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Table Grape Association Inc. (ATGA), Jeff Scott, said that negotiations with Korea had resulted in a commercially viable protocol that Australian industry was very pleased with. Following the initial shipment this season, industry would be looking to take further advantage of this new market in 2014 when hopefully very favourable tariff reductions will come into effect.

“Commencement of this new trade is great news for the Australian table grape industry as access to the Korean market will help our industry continue to grow. We are able to provide high-quality, counter-seasonal product to Korea that is fresh, sweet and tantalisingly tasty,” Minister Joyce said.

ATGA Executives were in Seoul in mid-May 2014 to launch the trade in Australian table grapes at the Seoul Food 2014 exhibition and in selected supermarkets through in-store promotions. Seoul Food 2014 is the third largest food industry exhibition in Asia.