Adelaide Hills growers of cherry, apple, pear and strawberries are working to have their region declared fruit fly free in a bid to open the door to lucrative new export markets.
The only state region declared fruit fly free is the Riverland and its growers are fiercely protective of the ranking that gives them access to key export markets in Japan, Korea, the USA, Taiwan and China.
“The potential benefits from this are numerous, look at the Tasmanian industry (since it was declared fruit fly free), they’ve grown tenfold in the past 10 years or so,” Nick Noske, a member of the Cherry Growers Association of South Australia, who has a cherry farm in Lenswood, said.
“They are also getting significant price premiums over what we are receiving.”
The region was keen to find new markets after it lost the Taiwan export market about 10 years ago, followed by Thailand and then Vietnam about 18 months ago. About 90 to 95 per cent of the state’s cherry production happens in the Adelaide Hills region.
The state’s apple crop is worth about $46 million and the pear crop about $9.2 million but Ms Green said new export markets meant there was potential for expansion.
