A Murray Valley grower has welcomed news that Vietnam has opened up as a market for Australian plums.
After two years of negotiations between the Australian and Vietnamese governments, market access has now been granted for Aussie plums with a trade agreement reached in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Monday, September 10.
Cobram grower Adrian Conti said the opening was a new opportunity for Australian growers.
He said the size of the market for plums was difficult to assess as it was unknown, but it was still a potentially significant one.
“It’s a brand new market for summer fruit, so we are hoping growers will take up the opportunity.”
Mr Conti, who is president of the Cobram Fruit Growers Association and also an exporter, said Vietnam would be a protocol market, requiring exporters to comply with a range of conditions.
This year’s plum harvest was shaping up as a good one, albeit in drier than normal conditions. Some growers have already started irrigating.
The cold winter had provided some good winter chill hours resulting in good fruit setting.
The Albanese Government said the deal was part of a two-way agricultural market access agreement that provides Australian plums to Vietnam and Vietnamese passionfruit to Australia.
Trevor Ranford — head of Summerfruit Australia, the peak industry body for stonefruit growers — described the agreement as “significant”.
“We’re anticipating that we will get substantial growth over a number of years, and that Vietnam will become potentially the number two market behind China,” Mr Ranford said from Hanoi, after the agreement was reached.
“The more markets that we can open up and get access to the better, to help the industry further develop and expand.”
Australia currently exports around 20,000 tonnes of stonefruit each season, about a sixth of the total grown, mostly to Asian markets, with China the largest buyer.
Vietnam began accepting peaches and nectarines from Australia again in 2022, with about 140 tonnes exported to the South-East Asian nation in 2023.
“It will take us time ... but expectations are that we can get to 100 tonne (of plums exported) ... in the next season which runs from November to April,” Mr Ranford said.
Vietnam had previously been a big stonefruit export market but the introduction of pest controls by Hanoi in 2014 had limited access for Australian producers, he said.
Government data shows Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports to Vietnam were worth $3.7 billion in 2023-24, reflecting strong ties between the nations, Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said.
“Accelerating mutual market access outcomes is a reflection of Australia and Vietnam’s strong bilateral relationship and drive to support our agriculture industries to capitalise on export opportunities,” Ms Collins said.
The Albanese Government said the next pairing on the trade agenda is Australian blueberries and Vietnamese pomelos, with negotiations well under way.
– with AAP