Sunbeam welcomes Riverina prune expansion but wary of overseas buyer
If Californian prune co-operative Sunsweet snaps up local supplies in the next few years, it will have ramifications for packers.
Angas Park, a subsidiary of dried fruit company Sunbeam Foods, has been sourcing prunes from the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area for more than 40 years.
Chris Ellis, the company's general manager of fruit supply, says with another player in the market, it will need to re-evaluate the price it can pay to growers.
"We've got a brand to sustain.
"We're certainly keen to make sure that growers feel that our demands are there and we've got to meet those into the future."
He says current prune production in Australia is not sustainable and if more growers are encouraged to plant additional plum trees, it'll benefit the entire market.
"We certainly haven't had an export focus in the Australian prune industry.
"It does allow another opportunity, should that be sustained into the future, that will grow our industry and give it greater scale than it has traditionally had."
Source: www.abc.net.au