The Australian citrus industry is welcoming the prospect of new opportunities for its export trade to the US, following the abolition of the single-desk import channel controlled by DNE World Fruit Sales, which has been replaced with Horticulture Australia’s (HAL) Citrus to USA committee.
“Reputable marketers will now be able to leverage global alliances, global brand strategies and ship proprietary varieties through to the US,” explained David Holman, CEO of Australian marketer Holman Fresh, a part of the Freshmax group.
Neil Barker of BGP International, an Australian exporter with an office on North America’s West Coast, concurred that the deregulation of the market is a positive step.
“The DNE system has not made any ground for several years and it didn’t favour imports of Australian produce at all,” he told Americafruit.
“We’re hoping to reduce the costs of handling fruit in the US,” Barker added. “The removal of DNE should significantly help with that as we’re able to market more directly to the consumer. That should definitely help us lower the price difference and make Australian produce a little more competitive.”
Both Holman Fresh and BGP told Americafruit they are commencing plans to expand the US market for Australian citrus.
The US ranked as the fifth-largest export destination for Australian oranges between April and December 2011, but climbed to third position for the same period in 2012.
The full report is published in the April/May issue of Americafruit.
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