The start of the early Australian grape season is pushing further back with expansion of production in areas outside the traditional Queensland hub, putting it into competition with late-season US grapes.
While the majority of that production will initially focus on the Australian domestic market, the rearward extension of the season will no doubt present buyers in Asia with extra opportunities, particularly as volumes ramp up.
In Queensland this year, however, the early grapes are not so early – a cool spring has pushed the season back seven to 10 days, but volumes are up 10-15 per cent, according to Elliot Jones, general manager of the Costa Group’s Grape Exchange division.
Between that slow start and rain late in the US season, Queensland fruit is unlikely to butt heads with American grapes on export and the Australian domestic markets, but earlier fruit from Western Australian and the Northern Territory will to be a different matter.
Grape production is on the rise in Katherine in the Northern Territory, traditionally a hub for mango production. One marketer with a stake in Katherine grapes is Southern Produce Traders, which will start production there next season.
“We’ll be doing that domestically, and competing against US grapes,” explained Southern Produce Traders’ Karl Foster. “The season there starts in September, and gets around A$180 a box on the domestic market.”
Grape production in Katherine is focusing on seedless varieties, and a number of players are expanding vineyards in the region, Mr Foster told Fruitnet.com.
“There are a lot of young vines,” he said. “And there are a lot of new varieties that will be coming onto the market.”
Southern Produce Traders has also been expanding grape supplies from Western Australia, with the season starting about two weeks ago in mid-November. The company is this year sourcing 15,000-20,000 cartons of grapes from Carnarvon on the central WA coast, destined for export.
“We’re working on a programme with a few growers there,” Mr Foster said. “We’ll hover around 15,000 boxes. We’ll clash a lot with US grapes.”
The Carnarvon season has been running close to 2009/10 production, according to Dom Condo of Condo Produce, one of the largest grape growers in the region. Mr Condo is also chairman of the Gascoyne Water Cooperative, which has been expanding water bore fields in the region.
“We’re developing our own bore field,” he told Fruitnet.com. “We haven’t had a river flow since April 2009, so we’re trying to drought-proof the place. We’re developing new bores as we go, and hopefully that will ease the pressure.”
Carnarvon’s season starts with Flame Seedless, Red Globe and Millenium and Carnaravon Muscat, before moving to Menindee Seedless (Thompson Seedless), Dawn Seedless and Ralli Seedless.
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