The Western Australian apple industry is following the table grape industry's lead by calling for the introduction of mandatory maturity standards to ensure a consistent flow of high quality fruit to consumers. The move will involve compliance checks on all fruit going to market to ensure it meets an agreed industry standard.Australian apple grower Harvey Giblett says it's important to deliver a good eating experience for consumers. “Out of this situation, no one really loses. It's just a matter of growers just waiting a few more days until the sugars come up. There are no losers, other than us if we don't get it right."
The table grape industry in Australia now drives its own quality code to monitor the maturity of fruit every season, although there still remain challenges within the industry to remove variability. Still, the industry is showing a leveling in the supply and demand curves, a fairly uniformed pricing through the season.
Citrus and table grapes already have their compliance component under the Biosecurity Agriculture Management Act. The move to add pome fruit to the quality programs was well received by Western Australia’s Minister for Agriculture and Food Ken Baston. He said he'd be prepared to sign off on it.
Source: ABC Australia
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