February 2012 - No 3 - Cherry Growers Australia

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STATE REPORTS It was a very mixed bag in Victoria . Rain caused damage early but mainly in the south, then cleared for the latter part of the season. As in most areas, our season was about 10 days early which saw a shorter supply of cherries Christmas week. Thankfully later areas did not see the awful glut experienced last year post Christmas. Prices were under immense pressure with extreme competition within the retail sector. This caused a follow on effect within the wholesale markets with unrealistic prices offered. I am not sure what education program can be put in place, but it is not feasible to just accept growing returns. We have our Conference planned for March 1 and 2 to be held in Wangaratta. It promises to be very informative with John Warmerdam from the USA as the main guest presenter. Growers from all states are invited to attend. For further information contact FVG on 03 5825 3700 Work is continuing on QFF and market access, both very slow and frustrating. Stuart Pickworth President VCA The season just gone has had mixed results for growers across our growing regions, whilst a lot of growers picked reasonable tonnages, the level of damage and lack lustre prices during peak production times disappointed many growers. Later production areas reported better results but for a number of growers this has been the third year in a row of disappointment. Again there were unacceptable levels of Brown Rot late in the growing season on some properties even though growers were more aware of the problem after last year. CGSA decided to work more closely with independents and retailers this year in the promotion of South Australian Cherries. The national promotion material along with SA promotional posters and cherry information were distributed from the Produce Markets and were generally very well received. The push this year to focus on good news stories with the media definitely helped. The Chinese biosecurity delegation visit in December went well, thanks to those members that helped on the day and made their properties and time available during your busiest period. Let’s hope we achieve good workable protocols. The draft protocols for Thailand are unfortunately not considered commercially workable for SA at this stage. POST HARVEST MEETING ASHTON COOPERATIVE BOARD ROOM MONDAY 19 th March 7.30 As CGSA members are aware at our last AGM we did not fill the secretary position. This position is still not filled, if anyone within SA membership is keen or knows anyone interested, please contact a member of the- Executive. Happy Pruning. Grant Wotton President CGSA
STATE REPORTS The Tasmanian cherry season has yet to finish at the time of writing this report, however it has been a season of contrasts with varying reports throughout the state. Whilst early rain and some isolated rain events did cause damage in some areas other areas remained relatively free of cracking or rain damage and picked a clean crop. In several regions, the crops were lighter than expected however this did reflect in some excellent quality fruit and high packouts. Fruit size was on average larger than previous years with the bulk of the crop in the 28+mm-30+mm size range, however more importantly the fruit was much firmer and sweeter than last season. Timing of the crop certainly influenced returns with periods of slow and strong demand throughout the season. Certainly export demand was influenced by the strong $A, loss of the Thailand market and the strong influence of Chile particularly in the Taiwan and Hong Kong markets. No doubt a full analysis cannot be undertaken until the season has finished and growers have assessed their crop returns, however there is certainly some food for thought for next season. With a larger crop expected in the 2012-2013 season, there is increasingly need to develop both national and interna- Western Australia tional markets as based on some of the experiences this season it remains a real risk. FGT have undertaken several promotions over the cherry season including a promotion on the Hobart waterfront on New Years Day with Jessica Watson and a stall at the Regatta on Australia Day. Both activities were very well received by the public and it would be great to have the ability to hold more of these events across the season. The FGT May Conference will be held on 18th & 19th May in Launceston and the program will be released in February. Lucy Gregg Business Development Manager Fruit Growers Tasmania Production volumes were well down on last year, with most growers reporting at least a 50% fall. Rain during the early weeks did affect fruit, but once the fine weather came, so did the flavour and quality. Many growers opted to supply retailers ‘direct’ in order to obtain a reasonable return. Growers from South Australia were again well represented in the market place, and quality was very mixed, with some providing excellent quality whilst a large number continued to supply inferior product. Supermarkets reported a near disastrous season until the advent of Tasmanian fruit in the second week of January. Once Tasmanian fruit hit the market, price resistance crumbled fairly quickly in the face of generally good quality product. The Annual Charity Auction was put back to the second week of December coinciding with the annual Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival, and an outstanding result was achieved. Sweet Cherry Valley supplied a beautifully crafted ‘jarrah’ wooden box that would have done the finest jewellery proud and bidding was almost frenetic. It will once again be interesting to see what effect the Supermarket crisis will have on local and interstate producers. The mood is ‘for change’, but we will have to wait and see. Our thoughts are with those in the East who were again decimated by adverse weather conditions. With Chile continuing to exercise major influence over the Asian markets it seems likely that Australian producers will be increasingly focussed on domestic markets. The challenge will be to manage both the supply and quality. Gary Fergusson
Page 1 and 2: February 2012 - No 3
Page 3 and 4: Andrew Smith—President CGA W ith
Page 5 and 6: CGA Chief Executive Officer � Tai
Page 7 and 8: Cherry orchard biosecurity workshop
Page 9 and 10: A producer who sells cherries by re
Page 11 and 12: 2011-12 Export Report
Page 13 and 14: 2011-12 Export Report
Page 15 and 16: LATEST CHERRY RESEARCH Managing nut
Page 17 and 18: into fruit is mainly after cell div
Page 19 and 20: Continuous Improvement for Horticul
Page 21 and 22: EXPORT Culture Thailand Country Fac
Page 23 and 24: According to Thailand Customs and T
Page 25: STATE REPORTS The NSW season has be

February 2012 - No 3 - Cherry Growers Australia

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