Processing & marketing Sunbeam Foods

Challenging season’s silver lining

SUNBEAM FOODS & ANGAS PARK

The season delivered an absolute belter in term of weather challenges, with weekly rain events from early April to late May. Few growers were able to harvest fruit without having a weather event influencing the drying times or quality.

A number of factors added to the challenging season: - Later fruit maturity delaying the start of the harvest

- A lack of available contract harvesters

- A lack of available contract dehydrator operators - A lack of available people to undertake labour

However, the range of newer varieties that have been introduced as sultana alternatives performed well. We need to recognise that the industry vine-breeding program has targeted varieties that can withstand extreme conditions and are consistently high yielding. While the volume of light coloured fruit was minimal, the amber and brown fruit produced will be successfully marketed in either the retail market, where there is strong demand, in export, where the recognition of darker fruit is emerging, or the industrial market, where darker fruit sales have been prominent. Bon voyage

Our long-time receivals administrator Kerry Evans retired in July. Kerry transitioned into the Sunbeam business when Angas Park was acquired in 2003. She retires after 26 years of dedicated, proficient and valued service to both companies. Kerry has in many ways been the first point of contact with our growers, through phone conversations and grower function interactions. We wish Kerry all the best in her retirement. Electronic spray diary

The electronic diary will be introduced for the 2022/2023 season. Our field officers will help growers transition from the paper-based system to the new online format. This will give growers quicker and up-to-date chemical information to better manage their spraying requirements. Prunes

The 2022 prune grading is half completed and the pittable size range is sitting at 50 to 55 per cent. This is 10 per cent lower than the previous season, due primarily to the larger crop and later fruit maturity. The rush to finish the harvest with wet conditions around was also a factor. APIA – Mildura Field Trip

Twenty prune growers and industry representatives took a field trip to Mildura in July to tour the Sunbeam Foods factory along with Mildura Fruit Juices Aust, Mildura Fruit Company and the SuniTAFE Smart Farm at Cardross to view the innovations in horticulture technology being researched and implemented. The group saw firsthand the advances made to the Sunbeam Foods factory, including robotic carton filling and palletising. This trip was funded through the Leadership in Agricultural Industries Fund (LAIF).

Good Food and Wine Shows

The Sydney and Melbourne Good Food and Wine Shows were attended again this year after a couple of years off. Some of our devoted and passionate growers staffed the stalls and provided a direct link to the production and drying of prunes. Thanks to our growers and Cassandra for their dedication to promoting Australian Prunes.

Dried tree fruit

The project to replant the Angas Park Pike River Orchard with new varieties of apricots is progressing to plan with the removal of the older trees and the land preparations in readiness for the irrigation installation and tree planting. In the first stage, 17,000 trees will be planted and established before the second stage removal and replacement of the remaining older trees.v

Enquiries: Supply manager dried fruit David Swain / 0407 834 044 Field officer (including SA) Alan Lister / 0409 437 801 Field officer Gary Simpson / 0429 960 234 Dried tree fruits operations manager (Loxton) Luke Fitzsimmons / 0431 894 515

SNFL Australia Delivering Premium Seedless Varieties to Asia

The Australian table grape industry is a very competitive player in the Asian export market. Over 45% of table grape exports are shipped into China & Hong Kong alone and with the remaining 55% to countries such as Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Tawain, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as detailed in ATGA Meeting conducted in December 2021. Sunraysia is the biggest producing and exporting area in Australia, making up 82% of the export volume of white, red and black table grapes. The 2022 harvest was an unforgiving season for many growers and the delays on the delivery of container consignments were impacted, reflecting on fruit quality after 21-28 days travel. Here in Australia, SNFL Group varieties such as Timpson™ and Allison™ are unlocking growth for both the grower and consumer with excellent results in cold storage allowing fruit to arrive fresh and crisp to the consumer after 9-12 weeks post-harvest. Timpson™ & Allison™ are two easy-to-grow varieties, planted extensively across the world, due to their consistent yields, and recognized by the consumers for their crisp crunchy berry texture, colour and flavour. Actually, Allison™ is the largest variety planted for SNFL Group globally with continued growth in many countries including Australia and is an excellent mid-season red seedless replacement for Crimson.

In this context, licensed Australian growers have been able to see their performance during SNFL Global Open Days in Murcia, Spain, in July 2022, and discover the potential table grapes varieties born from Grape Genesis breeding program. Leading grape innovation for a healthier future.

Sponsored content by SNFL Group

Discover

our varieties!

www.snflgroup.com

SNFL VARIETY

Timpson TM

A superb mid-season variety, easy to grow with high fertility and crop production.

A crisp crunchy berry texture with a hint of muscat flavour.

SNFL VARIETY Allison TM

The most widely planted & successful SNFL’s variety in Australia, that colours naturally.

Very high fertility with large size bunches (Ratio 1:3)

A crisp & crunchy berry texture with a sweet neutral flavour.

Contact our General Manager for SNFL Australia, Rachael McClintock (rachael.mcclintock@snfl.com.au), to plant SNFL varieties this winter 2023.