Rise in demand for Australian fresh fruit to the Philippines

17 Oct 2019

Australian fresh fruit producers can take advantage of newly approved local cold treatment facilities and increased flights to boost exports to the Philippines.

‘Thanks to more flight options – 33 per week – between Australia and the Philippines, local importers are open to bringing in fresh fruit via airfreight. Airfreight is especially good for stone fruits, which have a shorter shelf life and are more sensitive to temperature,’ says Elodie Journet, Senior Trade Commissioner and Minister Counsellor, Austrade Philippines and Micronesia.

‘Airfreight shipments require onshore cold treatment. The Philippines has approved a revised list of Australian cold treatment facilities. If Australian suppliers do not have an accredited cold treatment facility, they can work with the facilities on the revised list to have their produce disinfected prior to being loaded into air containers,’ says Journet.

View the revised list of accredited cold treatment facilities.

Australia exported A$28.8 million worth of fresh fruits to the Philippines in 2018, making Australia the Philippines’ third largest source of imported fruits after China and the US.

The volume of Australian fresh fruit exports to the Philippines has increased by 230% since 2010. This is largely due to the market access gained in 2012 under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. The agreement reduced or eliminated tariffs for a range of fruits, including stone fruits, citrus, kiwi and table grapes.

Australian cold treatment facilities must be accredited by the Department of Agriculture and approved by the Philippines Bureau of Plant and Industry and Philippines’ Department of Agriculture.

Exporters that want accreditation for their cold treatment facilities should email a formal request to the Department of Agriculture’s Horticulture Exports Program.

The Department of Agriculture will then work to have the facility accredited by the Philippines Bureau of Plant and Industry, and submitted to the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture for acknowledgement.

Contact Patricia De Mesa, Business Development Manager for Agrifood, Austrade Philippines, for more information about exporting fresh fruits to the Philippines.