UP to 15,000 trays of far north Queensland mangoes will find their way into American homes this season as the industry finds traction in a new emerging export market.
The volumes – 5000 trays per week of Kensington Pride, R2E2, Honey Gold and Calypso – will be sourced from the Mareeba district weekly until February.
This week the region celebrated a major milestone with the first ever consignment of the four main mango varieties departing Mareeba in the one week.
Australian mangoes were first exported to America last year in two shipments of 400 trays. The industry has received positive feedback to date.
Australian Mango Industry Association chief executive officer Robert Gray hopes it’s a taste of things to come.
“Australia produces about 70,000 tonnes per year and we are hoping to export at least 20 per cent of that, with the US playing a big part,” Mr Gray said.
“The shipments that have gone this week would be worth thousands of dollars and we could expect to see more than a $1 million worth of fruit leaving every week in seasons to come.”
Shipments prior to Christmas were sourced from the Bowen/Burdekin region but it was Mareeba – the largest growing region in Australia – that claimed bragging rights as the supplier of the four key varieties in one shipment.
Mr Gray said the consignments had been well received.
“They love the flavour, particularly the Kensington Pride, which is the base across all the varieties,” Mr Gray said.
“They love the sweetness of the Kensington Pride and the Honey Golds, and love the colour of the Calypso.
“They are quite different to what they are getting out of South America and Mexico in terms of visual appeal and flavour.”
During a visit to the packing shed of Mareeba grower Frank Bosnic, Senator Anne Ruston, Federal Assistant Minister for Agriculture, said the shipment was a watershed moment for the industry.
“Opportunities for export from this area particularly given its close proximity to Asia are fabulous and for the Federal Government market access and ease of entry is probably the best thing that we could be doing for industry,” Senator Ruston said.
“Free trade arrangements have certainly already started having an impact on taking a lot of the fruit out of the Australian marketplace and putting some competitive tension back into the domestic market.”
