Western Australian avocados will feature in the next part of a nationwide research initiative to manage the risks of supply chains to provide higher quality, more consistent fruits that meet the demands of consumers reduces waste, and makes the most of the market’s advantages.
The three-and-a-half year Serviced Supply Chains II program is backed by financing by Hort Innovation and is led by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland along with a variety of commercial as well as State Government partners.
The simulation trials have begun within the Department of Primary Industries and Development’s (DPIRD’s) Manjimup Research Facility to evaluate the effectiveness of Hass avocados in different environment conditions.
DPIRD the perennial and fruit crop program director Dario Stefanelli told the press that these simulations could help design a tool kit that reduces risks and enhances the quality of fruit throughout the distribution chain starting from the orchard and ending at the store shelf.
“The first controlled simulations will be evaluating the effects of various temperatures and storage duration on the quality of fruit maturing, shelf-life,” Dr. Stefanelli stated.
“Larger simulations, that are expected to cover a larger variety of temperatures, will be in the pipeline soon. They will examine more than 30 boxes each time, evaluating more than 600 avocados individually – to determine the shelf-life and quality of the fruit.”
The results of the simulations will help later on in the tests on quality and handling of sea and air freight transport of avocados from WA as well as Queensland to the major market for exports in Asia.
An online survey of the supply chain, which includes importers, will evaluate and offer feedback in order to find out the risks to quality of product and devise solutions.
“It could take as long as 50 days to allow WA avocados to make it to the export markets of Japan as well as Singapore. This makes the fruit vulnerable to numerous dangers to the quality of its product,” Dr Stefanelli said.
“The project will assist in identifying sources of stress in the supply chain, making certain that the highest high-quality product reaches the destination it was intended for.
“This starts at the orchard and determining when it is most fruit matures in the best timing for the client from handing techniques for storage and transportation.
“The final product will be a series of guidelines regarding harvesting as well as post harvest procedures to improve stability, quality shelf life, and worth of the avocados – providing high-quality, safe Australian avocados that meet the needs of customers.”
The vastly-researched project also includes studies conducted by different States as well as commercial partners in mango fruit, nectarine strawberries, plums, and even vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus as well as cauliflower, celery, and the production of lettuce.
This project’s Serviced Supply Chains II project collaborators are Hort Innovation, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland, Agriculture Victoria, the Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade as well as Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade. Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia. The project also has co-investment with Pinata Farms, AUSVEG and Summerfruit Australia.
The program is implemented via Hort Innovation’s Hort Frontiers strategic partnership program. Hort Frontiers helps facilitate collaborative transformative research and development that assist horticulture up to 2030 and beyond.
For more information: wa.gov.au
Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies