THE AUSTRALIAN government has heralded greater export opportunities for the nation’s table grape industry following successful negotiations with Japan.
In an announcement made last week, the minister for agriculture Senator Murray Watt hailed the lifting of varietal restrictions on types of Australian grapes, following the successful completion of technical market access negotiations.
More than 130 table grape varieties will now be available for export to the key Asian trading partner for the upcoming table grape export season, which runs from December to May.
Previously, Australia was only able to export three varieties of table grapes to Japan, including crimson seedless, thompson seedless and red globe.
According to the Australian Table Grape Association, Australia’s national production volume of grapes is estimated at 220 000 tonnes annually, with 70% destined for export. China represents the biggest destination for grape exports, with 41%.
Minister Watt said it was a positive outcome for the Australian table grape industry.
“Japan is Australia’s second-largest market for agriculture, forestry, and fisheries products and a valuable market for premium Australian fresh fruit,” he said.
“Previously, Australia has been limited to exporting only three varieties of table grapes to Japan, resulting in significant market value loss.
“The lifting of these restrictions is an important development for the industry as Japan is a stable and sophisticated market providing long term growth opportunities.”
Industry experts estimate that the expanded variety access will grow by approximately $30 million, reaching $50 million over the next few years, a long way from the initial 16 containers sent in Australia’s first year of table grape exports to Japan.
The minister said the new opportunities represented a positive step towards the agriculture industry’s goal of $100 billion by 2030
Australian Table Grape Association CEO Jeff Scott said, “Interest for Australian table grapes in Japan has increased steadily over the past 10 years, since technical market access was granted in 2014.
“However, our export market value has been limited by the varietal restrictions in place.”
The negotiations follow last year’s success in removing varietal restrictions for Australian mangoes.
