Western Australia's big avocados ready for the Japanese market

A Manjimup business has been chosen as one of two locations in the State to start exporting avocados…

A Manjimup business has been chosen as one of two locations in the State to start exporting avocados to Japan, boosting an export industry already worth almost $2 million a year to the state. The first shipment of 104 boxes left Advance Packing and Marketing Services’ warehouse last week, with an estimated total of 2912 avocados inside.

The partnership between the two countries has been funded by the avocado levy through Horticulture Innovation Australia. The State’s avocado industry exports about 276 tonnes a year, for a total of $1.96 million.

Western Australia is the only state exporting to Japan because of strict bio-security laws, which have resulted in no fruit flies present on locally grown produce. Organizing the export opportunity has taken 18 months, making it the fastest protocol to ever be passed into Japan (most take three to five years).

Advance Packing and Marketing general manager Josh Franceschi said this was due to high demand and Australia had similar export protocols to Chile and Mexico, which were countries already exporting avocados to Japan: “These are the first avocados from Australia going into Japan, which is a pretty major thing. With the growth in the avocado industry, exports are one of the most important things to focus on and we expect to see a significant increase over the next three to five years.”

Thewest.com.au tells us how Franceschi said the chance to export to Japan had come at an ideal time for the industry. “Our volume of avocados is going to outgrow our supply needs here in Australia, so we are going to run into a problem where we have an oversupply for the domestic market. Access into countries like Japan who eat a lot of avocados is crucial in making sure we have homes for this fruit.”