Production expansion in the fruit industry is being led by continued growth of the avocado sector, which was worth an estimated $193m in 2015–16 and now accounts for just over 40% of WA’s total fruit production value. Increased production, WA consumption and demand from the eastern states have led to a 780% increase in the value of avocado sales from WA between 2011–12 and 2015–16.
Apples are the biggest crop by quantity and the third biggest by value.
Across all fruit sectors there has been a rising trend in export values, which increased 115% between 2007 and 2017 in real terms (after accounting for inflation). Strong sales of strawberries have been a major contributing factor.
WA exported $38m worth of fruits in 2017. Of this total, strawberries accounted for 67%, worth $25 million and 3509 tonnes in sales. Strawberries command the state’s biggest fruit export market share and global sales are increasing. But, despite the rising trend in exports, the real export price of strawberries fell in 2016 and 2017.
A drop in plum exports in recent years is another concern for the WA industry, as this fruit was identified as a high potential industry by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) in 2017.
WA orange sector experienced the highest growth in export values between 2007 and 2017 and it is expected this trend will continue. It is hoped that export expansion will change the current trade deficit in oranges to a trade surplus.
WA’s biggest global markets for fruit are the UAE, which takes about 21% of the state’s total exports, worth about $8m annually, followed by Singapore, which takes 19% of total exports worth $7m. Key emerging markets include China, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Exports of WA fruit to Hong Kong have been almost stagnant in recent years. Despite orange exports to this market recently picking-up, plum exports fell and this has left the total value almost unchanged. At the same time, the nominal value of total fruit imports to Hong Kong from the rest of the world has increased from about $900m to $3.5 billion. Further opportunities for WA fruit sales to Hong Kong need exploring.
The outlook for fruit exports is positive, with potential to boost WA’s share of total Australian fruit export value from its current level of 3.6%. This is worth about $38m of the total national value of fruit exports at $1.05 billion.
Fruit imports to WA have been increasing in recent years, predominantly during out-of-season periods for local production, and were worth $31m in 2017. This was up 133% from 2007 levels (after accounting for inflation).
Grapes are the biggest single fruit crop imported to the state by value followed by oranges. Grapes make up 18% of import spend at about $6m annually. The strongest growth in import values has come from fresh cranberries and blueberries. Oranges are the biggest import by quantity.
Despite Australia having reciprocal trade relationships, WA rarely export to the same countries from where we import fruit. Our exports are mainly to UAE and Singapore and imports are mainly from the USA and New Zealand.
Trade in fruit has increased in both exports and imports. Exports have increased by 115% and imports have increased by 133%.
We export more fruits by value than we import. Fruits as a whole have a trade surplus of $6.2m. However, when it comes to certain individual product categories like oranges, grapes etc. we have a trade deficit. Fruits have reasonable growth in both exports and imports mainly because of the seasonality. We export during our production season and we get imports mostly during our off season. Kiwifruit is imported almost throughout the year even though there are seasonal fluctuations. However, when it comes to quantity, we import more than we export. WA imported 11 200t and exported only about 9900t.
Growth in import value (133%) is more than the growth in imported quantity (86%) during the past decade from 2007 to 2017. This could be due to the increased imports of high value fruits such as cranberries and blueberries, peaches and nectarines, cherries and grapes. USA achieved market access to WA around 2013 for these high-value fruits.