Orange juice processors in Australia will need to look at long term contracts if they’re going to shore-up supply from local growers.
Right now imported fruit is being used to supplement dwindling stocks of local Orange juice because growers are pulling out their juicing varieties like Valencia to capitalise on demand for fresh varieties like Navel in China.
“Growers are now in the business of being profitable. At the start of the season the prices on offer for Valencias weren’t meeting the cost of production,” said Citrus Australia chairwoman Tania Chapman.
She said three to five year contracts were needed to give growers confidence in their plantings. Last year the country’s biggest Valencia producer at Hillston completely switched from juicing to fresh varieties. The move came as the Australian citrus industry reached a new export record of 220,000 tonnes valued at $335 million.
source: therural.com.au
