Australian apples need new export markets, grower says
Apple growers have been facing domestic market troubles for years, according to third generation grower Peter Apted, who says there’s a need to find new export markets.
Apple growers have been facing domestic market troubles for years, a Kinglake grower says, and there’s a need to find new export opportunities.
Lesley Apted and Sons general manager and third generation grower Peter Apted, Kinglake, said ongoing tree damage, market disinterest and a domestic oversupply meant Australia needed to find new export markets.
He said growers faced rising production and labour costs.
“New Zealand relies almost 100 per cent on exporting and seem to do it very well, I’m not sure why we don’t seem to be able to,” he said.
“We just seem to be able to keep increasing the numbers and growing more and more fruit, domestic consumption might be declining.”
He manages more than 6000 conventionally-planted trees and 120,000 high-density planted trees of pears, apples and seasonal fruits, alongside 250-head of Angus breeding cattle at Arthurs Creek.
Mr Apted is currently planting more than 3000 cherry trees across 2-3 hectares to tap into the direct-to-public sales and U-Pick model, while maintaining the commercial business.
He said they had a good, average yield in both apples and pears, and pears had sold strongly “right the way through” this year.
“The apples are a different story, it’s not as strong as it has been and is massively oversupplied,” he said.
“Everyone chases the club varieties and the next best apple, the reddest or the brightest colour or best size, and that’s okay but we’re all just competing for the same market.”
They started harvest in February and finished in the first week of May.
“The weather has been pretty kind to us, we’ve managed to get the harvest completed in a timely fashion,” Mr Apted said.
They recently had storm damage to older netting and fallen trees on boundary fencing, and had ongoing fruit bat and musk lorikeet damage.
“We were pushing the trees out because it’s become unviable when it’s not netted,” he said.
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