Australia’s citrus industry looks well poised to ramp-up exports to the US market this season, according to Citrus Australia. The peak industry body has teamed up with the Victorian Government to launch a promotional campaign in the North American nation, which is aimed at regaining the interest of US importers, wholesalers and retailers in Australian-grown navel oranges.
The US was a cornerstone market for the Australian industry throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s, however, exports have been dwindled over more recent times due to the strong Australian dollar and increased competition from other Southern Hemisphere suppliers. Citrus Australia’s market development manager, Andrew Harty, hoped that a return to more favourable trade conditions would see a resurgence in shipment volumes.
“In reality, we never went away,” Harty said. “Australia was the first Southern Hemisphere country to pioneer the US summer citrus trade back in the 1990’s, and has always maintained its reputation as a source of sweet, high quality oranges. We’ve had a tough time over the past few years with the currency exchange, with our dollar being one of the strongest in the world, but that has all changed now, and we can pitch our oranges at far more reasonable prices in the US and still make the numbers work our end.”
Favourable weather in the lead-up to this season’s harvest has also aided the push back into the US. Citrus Australia’s 2015 forecast for navels is predicting a balanced crop of average volume, with fruit sizes ideal for the North American market. Reports of low wind blemish levels on fruit should mean higher pack-outs of Class 1 navels this year, resulting in larger volumes available for premium export markets.
“We had very little wind in the spring, so the fruit is looking exceptionally clean this year,” Harty said. “We have not had extremes of weather or water shortages, so the fruit has grown well, and most importantly, the sugar levels are excellent. I guess we could call this a vintage season. We have always had very sweet navel oranges, which have given us a competitive edge, and now more US consumers can again experience this great eating quality.”
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