Recently, the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) announced that Australian stone fruits have entered the export season. On October 29, Australia's LPG Cutri Fruit Global shipped the first batch of 8 tons of peaches and nectarines from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur by air.
Australia's exports of peaches and nectarines mainly rely on air transport, and during the epidemic, they are faced with the challenges of shortage of logistics services and rising prices. In order to promote the export of agricultural products, the Australian Federal Government has connected 9 Australian ports with 58 international destinations including China, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates through the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM). The current IFAM plan has been extended to mid-2022, covering the entire stone fruit export season.
LPG Cutri Fruit Global is one of Australia's largest stone fruit growers. Its orchards are located in Victoria and New South Wales. They also purchase fruit from growers in Shepparton and Cobram. The company sells 40% of its fruit in Australia and 60% of its fruit is exported. Its main customers are located in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Middle East and Canada.
According to the forecast of the US Department of Agriculture, the output of Australian peaches and nectarines in the 2021/22 season will increase slightly by 5% compared with last year, reaching 110,000 tons. With labor shortages and improved air transport conditions, the export volume of peaches is expected to increase by 15% to 15,000 tons.
Over the past 10 years, exports of Australian peaches and nectarines have been on the rise. From 4,000 tons in the 2007/08 season to 15,500 tons in the 2018/19 season, the export volume has increased nearly four times. The increase in export volume is mainly due to Australian nectarines gaining access to the Chinese market. Australian nectarines were exported to China for the first time in the 2016/17 season.
