Australia’s table grape sector has made great strides during the last 10 years, raising production by more than a third and exports by 50 percent. Despite two years of declining production and exports due to COVID-19 constraints, investments in vineyards prior to and during the pandemic have set the industry on a path to continue its upward trend. With exports on par with Egypt and the European Union and effectively competing with other Southern Hemisphere suppliers in Asia, Australia has become a significant world player.
Production driven by exports
Australian table grapes are grown in six of the eight states and territories, with production concentrated in Victoria and New South Wales. The Sunraysia and Murray Valley regions in Victoria account for more than 70 percent of production, while the two Riverina areas in New South Wales account for 10 percent.
Both regions are characterized by a temperate climate, in which mild winters have sufficient chill hours to stimulate growth and encourage bud burst. Annual rainfall is low, occurring mostly outside the harvest period, and with free-draining sandy loam soil, vineyards are heavily dependent on irrigated water supplies. Australia’s harvest cycle starts in October in the Northern Territory and ends in May, with the bulk of production in the southern states of Victoria and New South Wales.
Australia’s export growth has largely been driven by China, which became its top market in 2015/16 at 30,000 tons, marking a new record for exports to a single country. Chinese tariffs on Australian table grapes fell to zero in 2019 as part of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, and exports to China reached a peak of 63,000 tons. Australia’s total exports also reached a record 153,000 tons, more than doubling in less than 10 years.
Source: fas.usda.gov