According to Australian growers, the export markets for table grapes are booming, as lower production levels and strong demand has pushed prices up. At the same time, domestic prices for the fruits are languishing.
Volumes of Australia’s main export variety, crimson seedless, are down slightly, meaning demand is high and growers are getting $28-$30 a box, up from the $24 a box they were being offered last year on the domestic market.
Australian Table Grape Association chief executive Jeff Scott said there had been strong demand for table grapes this season because quality had been “way up” and production had been down.
“Every export market this year seems to be up,” Mr Scott said. “It’s a combination of Japan being a new market, the Japanese liking the taste of Australian grapes and the fact that we’ve done a lot of promotion in that market,” he said.
“We’ve also done extensive promotion in Korea.''
But domestic table grape prices dipped last week and growers are hopeful supermarkets will be forced to step up their prices because of the strong export demand.
Green grape prices dropped as low as $2.90 a kilogram last week, while red grape prices dropped to about $5, from highs of up to $10 earlier in the season.
Mr Scott said the cost of production was about $18-$20 a box this season.
Sunraysia and District Table Grape Growers Association president John Argiro said Japan was offering competitive prices and he was receiving at least $25 a box.
“Because Japan is offering such strong prices it’s forced other countries such as China to pay growers more,” Mr Argiro said.
“Last year China were paying anywhere between $13-$35 a box, which was just a nightmare.
“I’ll be exporting 500 containers of grapes to Japan this year in comparison with last year, when I only exported 100.”
