The loss of access to the Taiwanese market in January 2006 was a significant blow to Australia’s stonefruit exporters, but the industry is hoping the situation could be reversed in time for this season.
Discussions with Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) have yielded an access protocol agreed to in principle, but not yet signed.
The deal could see access granted for peaches and nectarines this season, although plums have not been part of the discussion.
“Taiwan was traditionally our biggest market for export,” Rowan Little of grower-packer-marketer Montague Fresh told Fruitnet.com.
“Back in the early 2000s it was taking considerable volume, and our feeling is that it would certainly give us another significant avenue for sales.”
Changing Taiwan’s quarantine regulations, should the deal be signed, is expected to take three to four months, and will allow Australian stonefruit to enter via sea after in-transit cold sterilisation.
“The question then is will we be able to ship before those regulations are changed, or will we have to wait until after,” said David Minnis of 888 Exports.
Mr Minnis does not expect a large volume of peaches to make the trip regardless of how soon a deal is signed.
“Exporters might nominate 3°C as the carriage temperature,” he stated. “I personally don’t think a lot of peaches will go because of that temperature, just nectarines. It’s important that we get one of them across, though.”
Chile is expected to provide stiff competition to Australian attempts to reclaim market share. The South American supplier gained dominance in Taiwan’s stonefruit sector following Australia’s loss of access.
The upcoming Australian season, set to begin in early November, is expected to mirror last season’s production levels, with a drop in late-season yields.
