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Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) application to permit food derived from a banana line genetically engineered (GE) for resistance to Panama disease.

Australia is a crucial market for U.S. fresh fruits because of the year-round demand for high-quality products. The U.S. has benefitted from a well-established reputation for producing quality and safe fruits.

For marketing year (MY) 2023/24, Post estimates an increase in fresh lemon production. This upward revision is attributed to producers' expectations of favorable weather conditions. Post’s MY 2022/23 production estimate is revised up 12 percent due to less severe drought conditions than initially expected.

Early seasonal conditions for the MY 2023/24 citrus crop have been favorable, and producers expect to benefit from an easing of fertilizer and crop protection chemical costs, along with a further easing of labor constraints. Orange production is expected to increase five percent to 530,000 metric tons (MT) from the prior’s year estimate, the second highest over the last two decades.

Post forecasts fresh deciduous fruit production to rebound to 486,850 MT for apples and 625,400 MT for pears for Marketing Year (MY) 2023/24.

Australia’s table grape production is expected to increase to a record 220,000 MT in marketing year (MY) 2023/24 from an estimated 210,000 metric tons (MT) in MY 2022/23.

Stone fruit production in Australia is forecast to increase in marketing year (MY) 2023/24, following two successive seasons affected by unseasonably wet weather, labor shortages at harvest, logistics challenges, and very high costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For marketing year (MY) 2022/23, Post revises fresh lemon production estimates to 1.65 million metric tons (MMT), down 6.5 percent from the official USDA estimate due to continued adverse weather and poor economic conditions, especially for smaller producers.

Australia’s table grape sector has made great strides during the last 10 years, raising production by more than a third and exports by 50 percent. Despite 2 years of declining production and exports due to COVID-19 constraints, investments in vineyards prior to and during the pandemic have set the industry on a path to continue its upward trend.

For Marketing Year (MY) 2022/23, Post forecasts fresh deciduous fruit production to rebound to 535,000 MT for apples and 700,000 MT for pears due to favorable weather conditions.

For marketing year (MY) 2022/23, Post forecasts fresh lemon production to decrease to 1.77 million metric tons (MMT) due to unfavorable weather conditions. Fresh orange production is projected to decrease to 800,000 metric tons (MT), and fresh tangerine production is expected to decrease to 380,000 MT due to heavy hailstorms in July 2022 in northeastern Argentina, which caused fruit loss and may have damaged trees.

Orange production is expected to decline in Australia in marketing year (MY) 2022/23 to 505,000 metric tons (MT) from an estimated 535,000 MT in MY 2021/22. However, exports are forecast to rise to 180,000 MT from an estimated 145,000 MT in MY 2021/22, due to an anticipated substantial improvement in fruit quality.