MOVES are underway to substantially increase Australian exports of apples and pears to grow the industry and promote a “clean and green” product overseas.
Currently just one per cent of apples and 5pc of pears produced in Australia are exported.
The plan is to increase those exports to 10pc for both apples and pears in the next five years.
Key export markets in focus are South East Asian countries, as well as the UK.
Apple and Pear Australia chief executive John Dollisson, Melbourne, said an industry summit was recently held to discuss how there could be a better focus on exports.
“If we want to grow our industry we have to go further afield than the domestic market,” Mr Dollisson said.
“Australia had a substantial export market 20 to 25 years ago and we continued that into the Asian market 10 years ago.
“Yet the strong Australian dollar made exports difficult so there was more of a focus on the domestic market.”
He said apple varieties such as the Pink Lady were “very exportable” and considerable time had been spent in the past couple of years identifying markets upon which to focus.
They include the UK, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thai-land, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
He said there was also access to the Chinese market through Tasmania.
A key part of growing exports was to place an emphasis on the quality and safety of Australian produce.
“What is the unique selling point of Australian apples and pears?
“We are a clean and green producer.”
He said there were good export market opportunities for Granny Smith apples, but Pink Lady apples were the big players.
Apple and Pear Australia export market development manager Claire Fitchett said the UK was one of the key export markets identified to grow Pink Lady exports.
“We are also really looking to develop our South East Asian market,” Ms Fitchett said.
“Promotions are a key part of this, such as in-store presentations, giving customers a taste of the product, and talking to the customers about the flavour and quality of the product.”
These promotions are set for the coming months.
As for pears, Indonesia has been a very big export market for Australian product for a long time so there were plans to grow that market.
She said it was important to focus on this market as South Africa was proving a fierce competitor there.
“We are also about to run some education programs for pears in Thailand, working with retail buyers to educate them about pears.”
She said this would include discussions about how to tell when a pear was ripe, as well as usage options and flavour characteristics of the different varieties, and when was the best time to buy Australian product.
Ms Fitchett will travel next week with Australian apple and pear growers to meet buyers in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and then on to a trade fair in Hong Kong.
The Australian growers travelling are predominantly from Shepparton in Victoria, as well as some from South Australia and Tasmania.
Ms Fitchett said this kind of face-to-face contact between growers and buyers was an important aspect of developing export relationships.
Nick Heydon
The Land's property editor.
The Land's property editor.
