The first shipment of Territory mangoes to be exported to the United States (US) this season has begun the two week journey to its US importer.
The mangoes, which truck out of Darwin today, are being exported by Darwin grower Tou’s Garden from their Acacia Hills mango farm.
They will travel from Darwin to Brisbane where they will undergo export quarantine checks before leaving Brisbane for the US late next week.
The shipment is made up of Kensington Pride and Nam Doc Mai, and this is the first time Nam Doc Mai mangoes have been exported from Australia to the US.
Department of Primary Industry and Resources (DPIR) Market Development Officer Michael Daysh is accompanying the mangoes to the US to monitor the challenges of maintaining fruit quality throughout the journey and gain a better understanding of the US market.
“In partnership with Hort Innovation, I’m travelling to the United States to observe the supply chain activity and obtain information about the arrival, distribution and retail conditions of Australian Mangoes to provide feedback to growers here in the Territory,” Mr Daysh said.
“I’ll be observing and reporting on the export and arrival compliance with US requirements and looking at any ways we can improve our compliance rates.
“I’ll also be seeking feedback from importers on the arrival quality of the fruit and the retail quality of fruit being sold in the US.
“This information will be fed back to the industry to help Territory growers and exporters build sound supply chains and develop new markets in the US.”
Also included in this shipment is a temperature, humidity and location monitoring device, the Sendum PT300D, which is able to capture and report this important information in real time to the grower and exporter. The device is currently being trialled by DPIR and Telstra.
“It’s extremely important when transporting fruit and other produce that consistent temperature and humidity conditions are maintained,” Mr Daysh said.
“With the Territory being isolated, mangoes and other crops have a long way to travel to important markets in southern cities and overseas export.
“With traditional temperature recorders, once the doors of a truck are closed the grower cannot get information on the location or temperature of their mangoes until the fruit has arrived at the destination, if the temperature recorder can actually be located within the thousands of boxes of mangoes in a truck and the hustle and bustle of a distribution centre or wholesale market.”
“With this device the grower and importer can access real-time information on temperature, location and relative humidity all the way from the packing shed to the eventual retailer.”
If successful it is hoped the device will be used in the future in a range of horticultural and other exports.
The first shipment of mangoes from the Territory to the US was in February 2015 and in the 2015-16 season 20 growers and six exporters were involved in 13 shipments that totalled 75 tonnes of mangoes.
Several further shipments of mangoes from Darwin and Katherine are expected to be bound for the US this mango season.
Image caption: Ian Quin, from Tou’s Gardens and DPIR’s Market Development Manager Jenny Hill with the first shipment of Territory mangoes to be exported to the United States this season.
Department contact: Lucy Buhr 0419 106 309
