Australia's orange juice industry is "at a crossroads" and needs a radical shakeup in order to survive.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That's the verdict of Citrus Australia CEO Nathan Hancock, who spoke to orange growers, processors, and other industry players at the Griffith Ex-Servicemen's Club on Wednesday.
He was one of the speakers at the 2019 Citrus Australia Juice Forum, which was held over a two-day conference on June 12 and June 13.
They came discuss the challenges facing orange growers, such as the decrease in orange prices after three years of high returns.
Mr Hancock said he expected citrus supply to continue increasing, meaning Australian citrus growers would need to act fast to avoid further losses.
"We can't as growers keep producing product the way that we are and remain in this business," Mr Hancock said.
"We don't want the juice industry to disappear because it's a way you can diversify your business."
But the forum wasn't all doom and gloom; he said there were two big opportunities for the industry, the first being China's growing demand for juice and the second being innovation.
NSW Department of Primary Industries citrus development officer Andrew Creek talked enthusiastically about some of the innovations being made at Griffith's research station.
New citrus varieties, new growing techniques, and new technology are some of the innovations being homegrown in Griffith.
He said the future looked positive, especially with some recent cash injections by the state and federal government as well as investments by Griffith and District Citrus Growers.
After the forum people took a tour of some local farms to see some of the new techniques already being implemented in the region, such as Salustiana pruning strategies and high density trees managed with dwarfing viroid.
In March this year Citrus Australia set up a juice committee, which was set up with the lofty goal of increasing returns for growers back to $420 per tonne.
Mr Hancock said there were a laundry list of things that needed to be done to make that goal a reality: improved extraction methods, more exports, and industry standards, just to name a few.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
