Local lychees fly into United States

Sustained interest from markets in the United States of America (US) has helped Australia’s lychee industry weather the COVID-19 storm. There are more than 250 lychee growers in Australia, with farms located from Cooktown in Far North Queensland to Coffs Harbour in New South Wales, and the industry is set up for further growth with new plantings likely to increase production and exports by up to 20%. According to Australian Lychee Growers Association President, Derek Foley, the high quality of premium Australian lychees means they are popular in global markets. Reliable supply is also a factor in global demand with Australia having the world’s longest production season, which runs for six months from October and March. “The industry has had quite buoyant prices for a number of years now and that’s encouraged newcomers to come into the industry,” Mr Foley said. Previously reliant on the Hong Kong and Chinese markets to supply the bulk of their product, Australian lychee growers are now zeroing in on their existing links into the US. Consistent interest from the US market has allowed exporters of the sub-tropical fruit to align their operating models to alternative supply chains during the health pandemic. “We’ve only been exporting to the US for about five years, but interest has remained strong and there’s a really robust market there now,” Mr Foley said. Australian lychees are also exported to New Zealand, Singapore and Canada. The Australian Government’s International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) was designed to reconnect airlinks for the movement of high-value, perishable goods. Since April 2020, it has helped to connect nine Australian ports to 61 international destinations. Mr Foley is also the Managing Director of Bundaberg-based Electra Farmlands. The company has utilised IFAM flights from Brisbane to Los Angeles. “All our produce usually goes in the belly of commercial aircraft, so having that was taken away from us was concerning,” Mr Foley said. He says IFAM has been critically important to his business, estimating that the program has helped support 45 jobs. “When the IFAM program came in it certainly helped relieve some of the pressure of moving our product. IFAM has really assisted us with being able to stay connected to our international markets,” Mr Foley said. “We are confident exports will increase as productivity increases across the whole industry. The building blocks are in place and we are looking forward to watching the growth.”

Lychees lift off: Australia’s long lychee season has caught the eye of overseas markets.