Australia’s apple market could be set for a shakeup, with New Zealand planning to ramp-up exports of the fruit to its trans-Tasman neighbour, according to media reports.
Pipfruit New Zealand's chief executive, Alan Pollard, said stringent quarantine requirements have limited the scope of export programmes into Australia since market access was awarded in 2011.Despite being one of the New Zealand industry’s closest markets geographically, Australia absorbed less than 60 tonnes of the 300,000 tonnes it shipped internationally 2013.
Pollard said trade had been sluggish again this season, as exporters struggled to justify the cost of meeting regulations imposed by Australian authorities and New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries, including the requirement for every apple to be individually inspected prior to shipment. However, Pollard believes more favourable trade conditions are on the horizon.
“We've proved that we've moved on, we do a much better job in fruit for the Australian market and our own officials are now prepared to acknowledge that and reduce the extra protocols they put in place,' Pollard told Radio New Zealand. 'So, exporters who have proved that they have no risk with their fruit, will go straight back to what was originally agreed with Australia, which was a much lower inspection regime.”
Pollard envisaged Australia developing into an important market for the New Zealand industry.
“From the Australian growers point of view, they'd rather we weren't there at all, but as we've said to them, we are coming and they need to be prepared for that,' he said. 'There's a market big enough for both of us over there. To be fair, the prices haven't been great in Australia in recent times and we've been able to sell all of our fruit in other markets, so we haven't needed that market but it will be an important one for us.”
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