Faced with a distinct possibility that apple imports may soon be allowed from New Zealand, and maybe the US and China, the apple industry is on the front foot with a $2 million marketing campaign to build loyalty for Australian-grown fruit.
The latest marketing initiative also plays to strong consumer interest in the health advantages of apples, now scientifically acknowledged as contributing to the fight against cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma.
Among the fruit's many nutritional advantages giving it credit as a horticultural superfood are its high antioxidants levels.
The light-hearted television and Internet advertising campaign kicking off this weekend makes the point that apples are bad for business for doctors.
Consumers are urged to think about the dire consequences to a doctor's financial health when eating nutritionally-rich apples.
The boost in generic marketing by Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) and Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) follows big efforts by growers and marketing groups in major apple production regions where they are upgrading orchards and packing facilities with an eye to potential import competition.
Produce supplier, Montague Fresh, has also been notable in promoting big plantings of its new Jazz varieties in Tasmania and Batlow in NSW.
But the apple industry, worth up to $400 million at the farm gate in Australia, is facing increasingly stiff competition from other fruit imports, not just a possible flood of apples from NZ.
In just five years, US table grape imports have jumped from about 4000 tonnes to 16,000t, vying for shopper attention in winter months when apples previously enjoyed often unrivalled positioning on supermarket and greengrocer shelves.
"And last winter we saw a glut of US cherries spill into Australia selling for less than locally grown cherries in summer," said APAL general manager, Tony Russell.
