The Australian Government has made significant progress on securing access for mainland cherry exports to the lucrative United States market, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke announced today.

Mr Burke said the United States Department of Agriculture had published its decision in the Federal Register to allow Australian cherry producers access to local markets.

“Until now, Australian cherries have been prohibited in the United States due to concerns about fruit fly,” Mr Burke said.

“Tasmanian cherries have been the only exception, because that state is officially fruit-fly free.

“I welcome the news that all Australian cherry producers could now have access to US consumers.

“The local horticulture industry has been working hard with the Government to negotiate market access.

“Now the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service is developing appropriate regulations for the treatment and inspection of Australian cherries for export.

“I am advised we can hope to see some cherries exported from mainland Australia to the US as early as this year.

“The US will still impose hefty importation requirements on our growers and it is important for bilateral discussions to continue.

“We will keep working with local industry and the US to seek new agricultural export opportunities for our high quality Australian produce.

“For example, I believe the Federal Government has a critical role to play in research and development to investigate more effective treatments for pests and disease, which could leverage new market access in the future.”

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry estimates there are more than 700 cherry growers across Australia.

Key production areas include Young, Orange and Bathurst in NSW, Mount Lofty Ranges and the Riverland area in South Australia, the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, the Huon Valley in Tasmania and parts of Western Australia.

In 2006/07, Australia exported a total 1,250 tonnes of cherries worth $12.3 million, including to Taiwan ($2.8 million), Hong Kong ($2.7 million) and Singapore ($1.6 million).

In 2006/07 Tasmania exported an estimated $320,000 worth of cherries to the US.