Sweetness remains the decisive factor in Asian export markets, and for grower Enrique Rossi of Budou Farms, that flavour profile underpins the business.
"In Japan, they look for safety and flavour," he says. "They like sweet grapes, a good balance of sugar, acidity, and the freshness of it."
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A Sunraysia grower, Budou Farms, specialises in export, with Japan its primary destination and smaller volumes heading to Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong, including Japanese retail outlets in those markets. Budou holds the rights to Bloom Fresh varieties and markets them on behalf of contracted growers, and has Sweet Globe, Bebop, Allison, Carlita, Ivory, Thomson, and Crimson among the current mix.
The competitive advantage, he says, is proximity. "Usually, the voyage is around 17 days," he says. "Compared to South America, that is 35 to 42. Much fresher." Against Chile and Peru, that shorter transit time allows Australian fruit to land with the freshness Japanese buyers expect, while still delivering the high sugar levels they demand.
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Securing those markets has required persistence. Rossi describes cold-calling importers, travelling to meet prospects, and maintaining a presence at international trade shows. "From 100 calls, maybe you got two or three back," he says. "From the three, maybe you end up with one."
This season, though, has tested even those established relationships. A dry and windy start was followed by successive heatwaves, including seven days at 45 °C and peaks of 49 °C just before harvest.
"On some varieties it affected the size, on some varieties it affected the colour, and some it sped up the sweetness but not the development," Rossi says. "Too sweet but not enough size or enough colour."
Late varieties such as Crimson were particularly affected. "They just stopped, the vines shut down," he says. Patchy rain during harvest has added further complication, at a time when growers prefer stable conditions.
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Despite sizing variability, Rossi says long-standing relationships provide resilience. "Because we have many years of trading with them, we tell them what is happening, and they know what to expect," he says. "Not every variety, but they know they could expect some variance within some varieties."
Currency is proving a serious problem. With the Japanese yen trading around 110 to the Australian dollar compared with a historical average closer to 86, Rossi estimates Australian fruit is effectively about 20 per cent more expensive before any price adjustments.
"If we maintain the price, and they sell in a supermarket, they already have to increase the price by 20 per cent," he says. Rising shipping and packaging costs compound the pressure. "There is a big disparity there, and it makes us less competitive."
Rather than push sharp increases onto consumers, Budou Farms works on forward programs and absorbs part of the impact. "We try to maintain the price and maybe take a little less income but keep the demand going to maintain it for next year," Rossi says.
Regulatory burden adds another layer of pressure. Export documentation costs through EXDOC have risen steadily, while the efficiencies promised by digital systems have failed to materialise.
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"It doesn't make it any faster either," he says. "I just got my phyto certificate for the first container that arrived in Japan, and they are still faxing and scanning. It should be able to generate it by a computer system, all done automatically, not passing through many hands and wasting time and resources in between."
With forecasts suggesting more stable summer conditions ahead, Rossi expects a later finish for some varieties and continued variability in sizing across particular lines. The key question, he says, is how markets respond amid currency pressure and higher input costs. For now, the strategy remains consistent: protect relationships, maintain price where possible, and compete on the sweetness and freshness that built those programs in the first place.
For more information:
Enrique Rossi
Budou Farms
Tel: +61 421839145
[email protected]
www.budoufarms.com
