Commercial considerations ignored in Vietnam market closure
Firstly Jeff Scott, of the Australian Table Grape Growing Association, told the ABC news website “We don’t have a day to wait for this. We need this market open as of yesterday. We’ve commenced our harvest season.” Michelle Christoe, Executive Director of the Australian Horticultural Exporter’s Association agrees. “The Vietnam closure is devastating. It is a very important growing market within the Asian region,” she says. “Australia needs to put more resources into progressing these discussions in a proactive manner, to protect not just the table grapes but all 41 commodities affected”.
According to both parties, the damage has essentially been done, and there is a precedent for thinking so. Many growers are still reeling from the Taiwanese market being shut down to Australia six years ago, where important relationships with importers have not been rekindled. “You can’t just regain those ties with importers and retailers. People can ‘downgrade’ it as much as they want, but the damage is done and importers are already looking into alternative supply channels,” adds Ms Christoe. Even within one year competitors from other low cost countries, such as Chile or Peru, will have taken the market share lost during the closure and it is very difficult to gain the business back, according to Ms Christoe.
“This result is not just losing a foothold in the market this season, but potentially for many years to come”, said Ms Christoe. “The growers have produced this season’s grapes with no alternate markets to sell in and sufficient notice has not been given for industry to respond and protect their farms. This is devastating too for the family growers who are already facing enough pressure such as high input costs and international competition. It is another blow to this sector.” Other businesses including transport companies are also affected, according to Ms Christoe.
Senator Barnaby Joyce attempted to address industry concerns, agreeing that growers might be ‘frustrated’ by the situation and saying that this was not the ‘loss’ of the market but a discussion around protocols. But that has done little to quieten the upset growers, who are interested in how to sell their produce and recoup losses. “Barnaby Joyce is not looking at it from a commercial standpoint. How does he think that we’re going to regain those ties with Vietnamese importers?” asks Ms Christoe.
According to industry chatter the real reason for the market closure could be Vietnam’s frustration with the length of time it is taking for Australian government bodies to approve the import of Vietnamese lychees and other fruits.
Author: Kalianna Dean