Australian kiwifruit exports have fallen this year in response to big Italian and New Zealand crops and a depressed international market.
Australia’s kiwifruit industry fills a short window before the New Zealand crop begins, and New Zealand’s huge productions figures this season have put pressure on prices.
The majority of the fall in export volumes, which some local reports put at 40 per cent, has been at the choice of Australian traders, according to the country’s biggest kiwifruit grower Bunbartha Fruit Packers.
“The drop is more by choice than by demand,” Bunbatha’s Jamie Craig told Fruitnet. “We’ve chosen not to push it as hard, because we anticipate the market is going to be a little weaker this year. We’re looking to stay out of high risks as much as we can.”
Europe is Australia’s largest volume kiwifruit market, if not the best in terms of returns, according to Mr Craig, who said the volume sent to Europe this season would be slightly less than last year.
The overall drop in export volumes is difficult to put a hard figure to, especially as the season is only halfway through.
Mr Craig said there has definitely been a noticeable reduction, but it doesn’t worry him: “It’s not a big issue for us. We’ve got a good domestic market, and we’re selling the crop pretty successfully without pounding the pavement internationally.”
