Western Australia (WA) has opened its doors to US cherries after 10 years of negotiations, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday (September 12).
The first US cherry shipment arrived in Perth in August, the USDA said, marking the first fresh US fruit to access the WA market.
The US hopes its cherries will pave the way for other US fresh produce to be shipped to the region.US apple growers, in particular, are keen to gain access to the Australian market, experts told The Associated Press (AP).
In the meantime, US cherry exports to Australia could dramatically increase thanks to the new agreement, Mike Willett of the US Northwest Horticultural Council told AP.
Eastern Australia granted access to US cherries in 1999. Since then, exports have risen from US$1.4m to US$15.6m in 2009, AP said.
