Western Australia’s stone fruit growing industry is grappling with ways to reinvent itself as it continues to face a significant downturn in export conditions.
Western Australia’s stone fruit growing industry is grappling with ways to reinvent itself as it continues to face a significant downturn in export conditions.
The state’s 350 growers rely heavily on export earnings with a large portion of the annual crop of plums, peaches and nectarines, exported, mostly to South-East Asia.
However, the high Australian dollar, combined with a flush of cheaper Chilean and South African stone fruit flooding traditional markets, is hurting local grower returns.
Western Australian fruit, which often sells for about $24 a tray, was being undercut by $8 per tray by Chilean and South African product.
Some growers have been told to prepare for returns as low as $8 per tray.
The downturn in export conditions has been compounded, particularly for plum growers, by recent poor domestic growing conditions.
A large plum harvest, combined with low rainfall during the past two seasons (November to April), has led to a glut of smaller, poorer quality fruit.
And with the downturn in exports, an oversupply of export product – often unripened – has found its way onto domestic supermarket shelves, where growers are receiving less than half what they were last season, and in some cases less than a quarter of the retail value.
The WA Fruit Growers Association said many growers did not harvest some varieties this season, while others were considering pulling trees out of the ground.
Some WA exporting agents had not sent any product overseas while others, such as Old Valley and Paragon Produce, have gone to the wall in the past 18 months.
Association executive manager Robert McFerran said WA growers, facing high input costs such as fuel and labour, could not compete against the high volume and much cheaper South African and Chilean products.
He said the industry was grappling with a solution and called on the entire supply chain to work together to devise a plan.
“Its pretty much crunch time. It will only be a couple of years before many growers are out of business,” Mr McFerran said.
Industry meetings are planned for the next few months where options will include revaluating volume of the crops and the size of the fruit, identifying new export markets and new marketing strategies.
The industry is already working with Department of Agriculture Deciduous Fruits Program to explore new markets, such as India and China, and is seeking assistance from Austrade to gain market research on export markets.
WA Fruit and Vegetable Exporters Committee chairman Tony Muggeridge agreed a whole-of-industry effort was required, but he was unsure of a solution.
He said the industry was already working hard to identify new markets, however risks included issues of non-payment, access in relation to political issues and pest control, and the high cost of transporting produce further abroad.
More market research was also needed on the loss of traditional markets, he said.
Austrade’s Jenny Matthews said that, although Austrade could provide general market research and client matching services, the stone fruit industry would require a major strategic study.
“We are normally not in the position of providing major strategic studies,” she said.
