Australia Cherry Growers five-year trade plan puts quality over volume

Australia’s cherry season is set to begin in a month, so producers are gearing up to harvest, pack, and ship. But Cherry Growers Australia (CGA), the representative of the commonwealth market, is not concerned with the short term, and instead has its eye on the future. 

The organization gathered to prepare growers for the season and launch its five-year trade plan. The document aims to solidify the country’s fruit worldwide and will focus on key areas such as quality, market access improvement, and branding and promotion.

The plan was developed with the help of market research firm Fresh Intelligence Consulting, with whom the CGA visited growers in all major exporting regions of Australia, including New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia. 

“One of the things that I'm hearing when talking to growers is about lifting the quality of the Australian cherry nationally and internationally,” said Cherry Growers Australia CEO Penny Measham. 

Chris Lethbridge, CGA’s Export Manager, agrees and adds that quality is the key to unlock market access for Aussie cherries. 

“Australia can only really compete on the world stage as a high-quality fruit exporter,” he said. 

The executive underscored Australia's good market access, but pointed out that some destinations are not a commercially viable approach. Import phytosanitary requirements might directly and negatively impact fruit quality. This would contradict CGA’s quality-first trade approach and become a challenge for local exporters. 

“When we talk about high quality and we put this in a cold treatment scenario, that makes it a little bit difficult,” he says.

The Southern Hemisphere battle for Asia

Rising fruit quality is also key, Lethbridge says, considering how competitive the Southern Hemisphere cherry market is. Australia has to go head-to-head with Chile, a South American cherry powerhouse that remains the largest worldwide supplier of cherries south of the equator. The Andean nation exported 625,000 tons last season, representing a 50 percent increase year-over-year.

“As an industry, we can't compete on volume. We have to compete as a high-quality, premium product—the best of the best,” Lethbridge explained. 

But it’s not only a matter of quality, because Chile not only produces a lot of cherries. They also have a firm grasp on the biggest market in Asia, exporting 90 percent of its production to China. Considering the geographical proximity to the Asian giant, Australia should take advantage of the country’s growing interest in cherries, says the CGA. 

Last season, most Australian cherries reported a six percent volume increase and strong growth in all key markets—except for China. Chile took care of that supply, as it has for the past decade.

“All of the growth that's happened within the international cherry trade has happened in Asia,” Lethbridge said. “Australia is ideally positioned to take advantage of this trend, with excellent air freight connections into the region.”

"Made in Australia"—a seal of quality

The CGA’s export manager also urged growers to include the fruit’s country of origin in all branding and promotions, as it provides the industry with a unified and consistent voice in international markets. 

“It's about getting out there and representing brand Australia in that international context,” he said.

Leithbridge said the organization will continue focusing on making headway in the Asian market and will be visiting several trade shows, including the China International Fruit Show in Shanghai, set to take place August 27 to 29.

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