Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) Financial Planning & Analysis Manager, Alvin Kee, provides a run down on the 2020-21 season, urging Southern Hemisphere exporters to be prepared to ‘go early in 2022’!
Volume Up Despite COVID Challenges
Underpinned by enhanced quality and inspection procedures, the Pink Lady® production footprint continued to expand during the 2020-21 season, with reliable sources of fruit available from both Southern (SH) and Northern Hemisphere (NH).
Despite the ongoing challenges posed by the global pandemic, volume was up over the past 12 months from 305 200MT to 361 800 MT, thanks largely to strong European crops, followed by strong crop outputs in Chile and South Africa.
Figures 1 & 2: Size of Market (sold and imported volumes) 2020/2021 v’s 2019/2020 season. Please note, includes NH season which starts in November.
Delays Far and Wide
The impact of ongoing lockdowns, reduced workforce capacity and shortage of shipping containers and vessels, however, did create substantial challenges at every stage of the supply chain from source, through shipping, to customs clearance.
Against this backdrop of delay and scarcity, and further compounded by seasonality issues, 2021 marked a poor year for internal browning (IB); upwards of 20 percent of batches inspected on arrival in Europe between August and end of the 2021 SH season were afflicted by IB.
Where IB was identified at source, this also resulted in more product being sold domestically in Africa and South America.
Despite these challenges for delivery, it has been encouraging to see demand for Pink Lady® apples remain strong, albeit with some softening in lockdown afflicted markets of SEA.
With shipping levels unlikely to return to pre-COVID levels any time soon, exporters are encouraged to proactively manage their programs with the importers in terms of quantity, quality and sizes. This will reduce the risk of quality and rejection issues experienced in the 2020-21 season.
Looking Ahead
Strong consumption trends in NH markets will likely remain stable in the coming year, reinforced by data showing that 42 per cent of NH supply was sold by week 5 of 2022.
Frosty NH growing conditions are also likely to put further pressure on supply and result in an earlier end to the season, now anticipated by late May. The silver lining for SH exporters is that this may create opportunities to kick off earlier sales to meet supply gaps and the message to exporters is to prepare to ‘go earlier’.
Regardless of production location, all export licensees should be mindful that shipping earlier will also serve to lower the volume of late crop batches, indirectly reducing the risk of IB issues that afflicted the 2020-21 season.
Maintaining accurate and timely reporting has been a key learning outcome of the 2020-21 season. Protecting the reputation and value of the trademark is APAL’s priority and all measures should be taken to avoid release of sub-standard branded fruit into any Pink Lady® markets.
To assist in this endeavour, we encourage exporters to share data with import partners on those factors impacting quality, i.e., spring weather conditions, harvest, storage and packhouse handling conditions, and we urge all licensees to remain transparent and pro-active in all communications.
