West Australian avocados gain access to Thailand

West Australian avocados have gained access to Thailand after the gazette notice for import conditions was signed on 11 May.

The gazette was signed by Rapibhat Chandarasrivongs, the director general of the Thai Department of Agriculture at a special ceremony held in Bangkok attended by Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, director general of the Department of Livestock Development, and Amber Parr, counsellor (agriculture) at the Australian Embassy Bangkok.

Once the gazette notice is published on the royal gazette, and verification is successfully conducted by Thailand, Hass avocado from Western Australia can be imported into Thailand. West Australian growers who applied in April to export to Thailand will be able to export their Hass avocados this coming season, once they are audited and accredited.

John Tyas, chief executive of peak body Avocados Australia, said the Thai market is potentially worth A$10m for West Australian growers by 2026. There is the potential for production regions on the Australian east coast to export to Thailand in future.

“I would like to thank the director general of the Thai Department of Agriculture and the Thailand government, Amber Parr, the Agricultural Counsellor for the Australian Government looking after Thailand, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for helping our industry regain access to Thailand,” said Tyas.

Richard Magney, Avocados Australia’s chief of export – market access, was very pleased with the outcome.

“Another export market means more options for our growers and we are on track to increasing our exports overseas,” said Magney.

Hort Innovation chief executive Brett Fifield said securing new overseas markets for Australian avocados has been a key focus for industry for over ten years, with over A$3.5m invested into market access via its levy through Hort Innovation.

“The avocado industry has invested heavily in trade initiatives through Hort Innovation over the past decade, so gaining access for Hass avocados from Western Australia in Thailand is a significant achievement. It follows the announcement earlier this year in March that Hass avocados can now be exported to India,” said Fifield

“With a surplus of avocados coming, research and development has never played a more important role.”

Fifield said that this announcement comes off the back of significant efforts across the avocado supply chain to be strategic about which overseas markets to focus on.

“In 2016, a levy-funded export strategy was developed which identified top potential markets and recommended the best strategic approaches to succeed in them,” he said.

“Thailand was identified as the highest priority for exports, given that it was the second largest export for Australian avocados before 2013 when Thailand introduced the new cold treatment protocol that put a halt to our exports.”