Budou Farms works with a network of growers across South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria, growing grapes mostly for export. The company is currently expanding its operations.
According to Enrique Rossi from Budou Farms, the weather's been all over the place. "It's been seriously windy, with one really hot day a week followed by a lot of chilly, cloudy weather. Because of that, things are running about 2-3 weeks behind schedule, depending on the block and variety. Some varieties are a bit lighter on yield, and others have too much, but the fruit that's there is sizing up nicely. We'll have a much better idea of the final quality by late December.
© Budou Farms
"We're all about flavour. Most of our varieties have their own unique profile. Take our "Ivory" grapes – we harvest them with a minimum of 18 brix, which gives them a crunchy, almost muscat-like flavour. Then you have "Timpson," which is a straight-up muscat flavour. We've actually built a reputation as the "So Sweet" guys because of our high brix and the fact that our fruit always arrives in great condition."
Australia now has access to Japan for more varieties, and last year Budou Farms tripled their shipments to Japan, and are expecting another increase this year, but remain cautious. "The market's getting a bit crowded. The Chilean and Peruvian seasons overlap with ours, which shrinks the ideal sales window. We're also seeing some other Australian exporters rush into Japan whenever the Chinese market gets shaky, which sometimes means a flood of mixed-quality fruit that has to be sold cheaply and fast. It makes the whole market a bit volatile."
Budou Farms sends all of their varieties to Japan, including Ivory, Timpson, Carlita, Allison, Sweet Globe, Sweet Sapphire, Crimson, and a few others.
© Budou Farms
Asked if he will now increase production for the Japanese market, Enrique said that it is not that simple; "The Japanese market itself is limited by its population. The total amount of grapes it can take from the Southern Hemisphere is roughly 1,500 containers, which gets split between Chile (about 40%), Australia (about 35%), and Peru (25%)."
"We've spent the last decade building a trusted brand that Japanese consumers actually know and ask for. Because of that, our growth has been organic and sustainable. We're not just jumping in to offload fruit; we are playing the long game, while others sometimes just jump in opportunistically or fill a gap when another supplier makes a mistake.
"Despite our fortunate position, our Japanese counterparts are also dispersed across Asia. Currently, we are successfully marketing in Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with plans to extend our reach to Indonesia and Vietnam. We are confident that our unique flavor, So Sweet, will attract repeat customers. We are continually engaging with consumers, demonstrating our product's appeal."
For more information:
Enrique Rossi
Budou Farms
Tel: +61 4218 39145
[email protected]
