Almonds Become Australia's Most Valuable Cash Crop Export Product

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resources Economics and Technology (ABARES) shows that the total export of Australian almonds in the 2014-15 fiscal year reached 0.522 billion Australian dollars, making it the horticultural product (cash crop) with the highest export value in the previous fiscal year.

Agriculture Minister Joyce (Barnaby Joyce) said that Australian growers, exporters and the horticulture industry as a whole, to increase the production of almond crops is of great significance. The latest Almond Market Perspective Report (Almond Insights) released by the Australian Almond Chamber of Commerce (ABA) shows that the development momentum of the Australian almond industry is becoming stronger and stronger. Thanks to favorable factors such as output growth (output in 2015 is 10000 tons higher than that in 2014), rising demand and rising prices, the export volume in the next fiscal year is expected to reach A $0.6 billion.

In recent years, the global demand for almonds has continued to grow. At present, the annual consumption of shell almonds has exceeded 1 million tons, and consumer demand is mainly met by international trade. Minister Joyce said that the development of the almond industry means that the planting area of apricot trees in Australia will continue to increase, and the number of jobs and export trade will also increase, which will create more economic income for growers. Joyce also stressed that according to ChAFTA, the current export tariff of 10-24% faced by Australian almond producers will be canceled in the next four years, "which highlights the significance of China Australia FTA for Australian horticultural products exporters".

At present, the Australian almond industry has entered a large-scale expansion phase, this winter in the new state and Victoria's Murray Valley region (Murray Valley) apricot tree planting area is expected to increase by 50% to 43,000 hectares. Joyce pointed out that based on the Almond Market Perspective Report, in order to promote plantation expansion and increase processing facilities, the government will invest an additional A $0.4 billion million in the Murray Valley region, which will bring more economic benefits to growers across Australia.

Source: Agricultural Information Network | Time: September 14, 2015 | Responsible Editor: Zhai Tianchang