On Thursday 11 May, Rapibhat Chandarasrivongs, the Director General of the Thai Department of Agriculture, signed the gazette notice for import conditions for Western Australian Hass avocados at a special ceremony held in Bangkok attended by Dr. Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, Director General of Department of Livestock Development, and Amber Parr, Counsellor (Agriculture) from the Australian Embassy Bangkok. Once the gazette notice is published on the royal gazette, and verification is successfully conducted by Thailand, Hass avocado from Western Australia can be imported into Thailand. Western Australian avocado growers and packers who applied in April to export to Thailand, will be able to export their Hass avocados this coming season once they are audited and accredited. This is great news for the Australian avocado industry as it has been working hard to increase exports to overseas markets. Peak industry body Avocados Australia, welcomes the news and says finally, years of hard work has paid off.
"I would like to thank the Director General of the Thai Department of Agriculture and the Thailand Government, Amber Parr, the Agricultural Counsellor for the Australian Government looking after Thailand, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Hort Innovation for their R&D investments that helped our industry regain access to Thailand," said John Tyas, CEO of Avocados Australia. "The Thailand market is potentially worth AU$10 million for Western Australian growers by 2026 and there is the potential for the east coast production regions to also export to Thailand in future," he said.
Western Australian growers can supply Hass avocados from July through to March.
Avocados Australia has begun discussions with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) on the pathway forward to audit and accredit Western Australian growers and packers who submitted an application in April.
Richard Magney, Avocados Australia's Chief of Export – Market Access, is very pleased with this outcome.
"Another export market means more options for our growers and we are on track to increasing our exports overseas," said Richard Magney.
2023 has been a great year for the Australian avocado industry as access to India is also nearing, once ten trial shipments have been successfully completed. Avocados Australia has been working on increasing avocado exports to overseas markets over the past few years and is making serious inroads into achieving the goals set out in the Australian Avocado Export Strategy.
For those Western Australian growers and packers that successfully submitted their applications for access to Thailand in April, Avocados Australia will work closely with those businesses and DAFF to ensure the audit and accreditation process runs smoothly.
