Adaptive and engaging marketing programme is helping to highlight Australia’s high-quality table grape offering in Asia
The 2025/26 Australian table grape crop is shaping up nicely as the industry looks to build on the momentum of last season’s success.
Australian Table Grape Association (ATGA) CEO Jeff Scott says on the eve of the current season, signs are positive.
“The grapes are looking very good and there have been no issues so far. The weather has been a little bit cool, so we may be a little later, but the sugars and colours are coming on now. Indications are we’re looking at a strong crop and everyone’s looking forward to a good year,” says Scott.
Last season, Australian table grape exports reached 148,300 tonnes, a 30 per cent growth year on year, which nearly matched pre-Covid record of 152,500 tonnes set in 2019/20. A key factor in this growth was full varietal access to Japan, which saw shipments increase nearly 300 per cent to 9,500 tonnes. This surge put Japan in equal running as Australia’s third largest market with Korea and the Philippines, sitting behind Indonesia in second and China on top.
“It was an excellent first season for our new varieties in Japan and the expectation is that our volume will increase even more. We’ve just come back from a successful trade briefing in Japan and we’ve received feedback that some importers are going to prioritise Australian grapes, which is really pleasing to hear,” says Scott.
The reception of the Japanese market is a credit to the focus the industry has put on quality and meeting customer requirements, according to Scott, a philosophy that has proved relevant across all export markets.
“There’s been a lot of education around supplying good quality fruit, communicating with our importers exactly what they expect to receive. If we can’t supply a certain size and variety, we won’t send anything, which helps avoid disappointment,” he explains.
“Growers have really committed to the path of producing good quality fruit consistently and that’s paying dividends for them.”
ATGA take the reins of the industry’s marketing programme for the second consecutive season in 2025/26. Pre-season, the ATGA ran a series of in-market trade seminars in Indonesia, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, with trips also planned to Thailand and the Philippines in 2026. Once the season begins, the ATGA will work with retail and agency partners to promote Australian table grapes in a way that best suits industry.
“Our pre-season trade seminars had a minimum of 40 attendees in each country which allowed growers and exporters to establish networks and relationships,” says Scott.
“It’s a credit to Hort Innovation to allow us to manage the marketing programme. We’ve now got autonomy on how we supply the programme and we can directly liaise with retail, media outlets and social media about the best way to deliver our message and plan the activities we do in-store.”
