More high quality Aussie grapes coming to PH

Australia is looking forward to delivering more high-quality grapes to the Philippines and introducing more varieties of this small, round fruit in the coming years.

“We think that the market will actually grow,” Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) senior trade and investment commissioner Christopher Lim told the Inquirer in an interview.

“We’re not only trying to grow the quantity but also the variety of grapes into the Philippine market,” said Lim, who is also Austrade’s minister-counsellor for commercial concerns.

Although no specific projections were provided, he expressed confidence about expanding their footprint in the archipelago.

He said Philippine Airlines’ unveiling of thrice-weekly direct flights to Perth, the capital of Western Australia, “will give tremendous opportunities for increased trade and investment.”

The official painted a rosy outlook for the Philippine market, highlighting the consumers’ appreciation for high-quality agriculture products including grapes cultivated from the land down under.

“With the population of the Philippines growing, is becoming more middle class and also there’s a lot of young people who are well-traveled,” said Lim.

Data provided by Austrade showed the value of grape exports to the Philippines increased by 7.7 percent to 27 million Australian dollars or approximately P1 billion in 2022.

Australia exported more than 9,280 tons of grapes to the country, up by 2.74 percent year-on-year, it added. It was granted market access in 2011.

This makes the Philippines the fifth largest export market for Australian table grapes globally and the third largest among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.

According to the Australian Table Grapes Association, more than 70 percent of the total production of Australia’s table grapes, the nation’s most valuable fresh fruit export, is dedicated to export. Most of these are transported by sea.

Yet, for the Philippine market, these are exported by air for an average trip duration of six and a half hours, according to Lim.

“It is possible for grapes plucked that morning, early that morning go to the airport and you can actually [have them delivered] to the supermarket in the evening in Manila,” he added.

The majority of Australian grapes being shipped to Manila are grown through non-organic methods. Amid the growing interest for grapes that are organically grown, Lim said local demand is still small.

“Once there is a lot of interest, I think that’s the time we will start to actually make a strong push for it—a lot of interest and a lot of demand. The demand is not quite there yet,” he said

Aside from table grapes, Australia exports citrus, vegetables, beef, wine and other food products to the Philippines. INQ