Export opportunities in Asia are looking strong for the upcoming Australian asparagus season, which is looking good after a cold, wet winter in the nation's main growing region of Koo Wee Rup in Victoria.
By volume the asparagus crop is expected to be 10 per cent higher than last year, with particularly good quality and thick spears.
'Eastern Australia has received above average rainfall this year, and we are very optimistic about the season ahead,' James Terry of grower-exporter Momack Produce told Fruitnet.com. 'As a result of all of this rain, the soils are at field capacity and therefore moisture stress should be less of an issue to the plants than it has been during drought years.'
Momack and fellow grower-exporter Delica Pty account for around 90 per cent of Australia's asparagus exports, and 95 per cent of the nation's production is centred on Koo Wee Rup, 70km southeast of Melbourne.
Spring harvesting for the export market will begin in September.
'In Japan this spring, we are expecting a slight increase in the total tonnage sold,' said Mr Terry. 'Last season we had extremely hot and dry conditions in November which severely affected our quality and less tonnage was shipped to Japan as a result.'
The Japanese market for asparagus has been performing steadily over the last 12 months, according to major Japanese importer and Momack client Watari Co.
'Having said that, I have been observing the fresh produce market in Japan being a bit weaker than before due to the economic recession,' the company's president and CEO Keita Watari told Fruitnet.com. 'That can be said of the demand for asparagus too. If the price is too high, I think the demand will stop right away.'
Mr Watari forecast the Japanese asparagus market would remain in that tentative position for at least another 12 months, but for the upcoming Australian season things look positive.
'The Japanese market really likes Australian asparagus, and if the quality is good and the price is relatively low, our market can move quite a large volume, I think,' he said. 'In short, I have a high expectation for our season of Australian asparagus this year.'
While Japan accounts for the majority of Australian asparagus exports, the country also sends smaller volumes to Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Those markets are expected to be much the same as last year, according to Mr Terry.
'We have a market for large-sized asparagus in these countries and will continue to have this for coming years,' he explained. 'Last year we `also` exported a very small quantity of asparagus to South Korea, and we are likely to slightly expand this market again this year.'
The Australian domestic market, which is catered for by summer cutting, is also growing significantly. Mr Terry explained local demand was Momack's largest growth area.
'More and more Australian consumers prefer to buy locally produced high quality fruit and vegetables and as a result, the summer domestic market is increasing,' he said.
Competition with Peru is heating up, meanwhile, a trend seen particularly last year with Peruvian asparagus moving into market gaps left by the lower Australian crop. Peru is present in both the Australian market during the local off-season, as well as export markets in Asia.
'Peru is starting to export larger volumes of asparagus in our spring season when Australia has the majority of the market,' said Mr Terry. '`But` we are confident that if our quality `remains` high, Japanese consumers will preferentially buy Australian asparagus.'
