Tasmania has seen some nice settled weather in recent weeks, particularly on the north west coast and the sun is out warming things up for summer.
“The weather has been good for growing, with cool temperatures in early spring and increasing sunshine as we go into summer,” said Jim Ertler from Premium Fresh. “We are looking forward to a good carrot crop this season. It is early days but the main carrot volumes should be good and quality is looking very good. We are not expanding production as the domestic market has been not strong due to over supply and the logistics for overseas markets is still recovering from Covid, but the pressure on some freight prices is reducing.”
Although the main carrot volumes are not increasing, Premium Fresh are investing in a snack carrot line, Snackits which was launched a couple of years ago.
“We use a special exclusive variety for the snack packs, it is sweeter than the main varieties. We are really pushing the taste of these carrots. They are shorter and have a smaller crown to fit in the 250g snack packs. We will be packing these in January and working towards supplying year round.”
Premium Fresh suppliers all of the Australian retails with Snackits, and saw a big interest for the snack carrot at Asia Fruit Logistica and other trade shows.
“The snacking carrot has been marketed for two years and sales ae increasing nicely, we expect to continue growing this line.”
Onions
Jim is also looking forward to the start of the new onion season in January.
“The European onion market is looking good and we expect some supply issues in Europe to keep prices at a reasonable level. The Australian domestic market is relatively well supplied keeping prices on the lower side at this stage. The good, dry weather also means that the quality of our onions is looking exceptional, which is very good for exporting to Europe as well as South East Asia.”
For more information:
Jim Ertler
Premium Fresh Tasmania
Tel: +61 3649 888 88
Email: jim.ertler@premiumfresh.com.au
www.premiumfresh.com.au