Biosecurity Australia will now allow New Zealand to export apples to their country. However, Australian apple growers are not happy.
To understand more about this, you need to listen to April 15th 2010.
Australian apple growers do not want New Zealand apples. They are worried about competition from New Zealand apple growers. NZ has a better climate for growing apples whereas most of Australia is too hot. Apples like a climate where there is a cold winter and warm, dry, sunny days in summer.
Some apple growers in parts of Australia are still refusing to allow New Zealand apples into their state. They say they are worried about New Zealand apples spreading the disease fire blight but New Zealand growers say this is impossible. The World Trade Organization said that Australia must allow New Zealand apples.
The Australian Minister for Trade said that Australia exports $8bn of goods to New Zealand. It is therefore important to allow New Zealand to export products to Australia.
New Zealand does not have many apples to export at this time of year but we can expect more protest from Australian apple growers next autumn.
Questions
• Why does Australia have to listen to the World Trade Organization?
• What are Australian apple growers really worried about – fire blight or competition?
• Why do New Zealand growers want to export to Australia when they have good markets in Europe and Japan?