The annual value of Australia’s tree nut exports is expected to rise to A$1bn by 2020, according to the Australian Nut Industry Council.
The peak industry body - which represents the almond, chestnut, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pistachio and walnut sectors - attributes much of the growth to the implementation of a free trade agreement with South Korea.
The almond and macadamia industries have already moved to leverage opportunities in the lucrative South Korean nut market, which has essentially excluded Australian exports in the past due to high tariff rates.
At present, 65 per cent of Australia’s 80,000 tonne almond crop is exported, with this figure tipped to rise as the A$650m industry increases its production volume. The Almond Board of Australia has booked a trade delegation to South Korea for November 2014 to position itself in the A$160m.
The tariff on Australian macadamias into South Korea is currently a prohibitive 30 per cent, however, with the tariff to drop to zero over the next five years under the free trade agreement the Nut Industry Council is predicting prices will fall and demand will rise. The Australian Macadamia Society is set to increase its promotional activity in South Korea from the beginning of 2015.
A new large scale hazelnut development will see this sector of the industry increase production one hundred-fold within the next seven years.
