AU: Export essential for future of fruit and vegetables
While vegetables are in a trade surplus, fresh fruit exports are almost outweighed by imports of fruit to Australia.
In the past two years, Australian fresh fruit imports have increased and the value has nearly overtaken the value of fresh Australian exports. The largest fruit import is fresh avocados from New Zealand, valued at around $64 million in 2011-12.
Processed fruit imports have risen at an average growth rate of 3.3 per cent in the decade to 2011-12, with the largest in value terms being apple and orange juice, and olive oil.
Within Australia, supply continues to outweigh demand in many cases for fruit producers, with increased production again expected for the main fruit varieties of citrus, bananas, mangos and avocados.
On the export front, citrus and table grapes remain the dominant fresh fruit exports, with cherries, mangoes, nectarines and avocados also being important. In value terms, the best markets remain Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and New Zealand.
ABARES says international trade is increasingly important in the fresh fruit market with consumers demanding fruit varieties year-round. It's not just Australian consumers that are shopping in this way, and the national forecaster says that could lead to additional export markets for Australian fruit.
However, the high Australian dollar is putting a lot of pressure on producers to become more price competitive to compete in both domestic and export markets.
The horticulture industry has undergone significant regulatory change in the last 12 months following a review of national competition policy as it aligned to fruit and vegetable exports.
As a result, the level of regulation for apples, pears and dried grapes have been relaxed and there are major changes underway for the export of citrus to the United States.
Source: abc.net.au
