WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2013 – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) yesterday announced that peaches and nectarines from California and the Pacific Northwest (PNW) are now allowed entry into all Australian States.
“The
first shipments of peaches and nectarines from California successfully landed
in Australia, passed inspection, and are on their way to markets for Australian
consumers to enjoy,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This
success comes after several years of negotiations with the Australian
government at all levels – from U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Bleich to USDA staff
from APHIS and the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). In addition, U.S.
growers used funds, including FAS’ Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops
provided funding, to research ways to resolve some of the technical issues.”
On July 19, Australia published import conditions for market access of peaches
and nectarines from California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to all Australian
States.
Australia
is the 7th largest market for U.S. fresh fruit exports, which were valued at
$113.2 million in 2012. U.S. worldwide exports of fresh peaches and
nectarines reached $173.3 million in 2012, which is about 3.5 percent of the
$4.9 billion worth of fruit exported worldwide in that same year.
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