The tenth annual Australian Mango conference has officially wrapped up on Thursday, and Australian Mango Industry Association CEO Robert Gray says it was an all round success. “We were very happy with attendance. Just over 200 came. We had a really good mix of growers - over 60 participants were growers. We had representatives from all main retailers: Woolies, Coles, Aldi, and a really good cross section of service providers and importers from overseas,” he told Fresh Plaza. The event included a Gala dinner on Wednesday evening, and conference speeches against the tropical Darwin setting. A letter from federal Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce was also read out during the conference, and the NT Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, the Hon Westra van Holthe was there for a panel on collaboration within the industry.
The talk was focused on executing the plan for the industry as a united body, according to Mr Gray. “Most of the talk was about how the industry has a really clear plan. En masse we’re getting adoption to that plan and that’s what’s giving us traction,” he said. Examples of successful export industries, including avocados, were also used to inform the Mango plan. “Avocados are a good example. They focused on quality and use occasions. The mango industry does a lot of what we’re planning on doing well in pockets and our aim is to bring the best aspects to life en masse week on week across the country,” Mr Gray said.
The two importers who received the first shipments of Australian mangoes to the US were also represented at the conference, a sign that bodes well for the future exchange between the two countries. “We also had the only importer from Korea which does a program. The president of that organization came across,” said Mr Gray.
Overall the focus this year was on delivering quality and flavor to consumers, Mr Gray explained. That was encapsulated by the tagline for the conference ‘collaborating, creating and celebrating.’ “We’re getting frequency of purchase up. Consumer research, standards, week-to-week performance and what growers are doing using technology such as infrared to determine when they should be picking and developing picking plans were talked about.” The answers were not hard to find, but it is a matter of implementation across the industry, he concluded. “A lot of the answers are under our nose, it’s more about getting them to happen more reliably, regularly and predictably.”
The AMIA Mango Conference was held in conjunction with Horticulture Innovation Australia, and platinum sponsor Woolworths. David Harris, of Harris Farms also gave a welcome address. AIMA Chairman Gavin Scurr said in a statement that the purpose of the conference was to “bring representative together from across the industry, and across the country, to collaborate to shape the future of the Australian mango industry.” That translates to increased profitability for growers, according to Mr Gray.
For more information
Robert Gray, CEO
Australian Mango Industry Association (AMIA)
Phone: +61732783755
E-mail: ceo@mangoes.net.au
Website: www.mangoes.net.au