New growing methods, varieties and regions have allowed Australian producers to make raspberries available almost year-round for consumers, following a trend that has already been seen in the blueberry sector.

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Raspberries & Blackberries Australia (RABA) executive officer Jonathan Eccles tells Fresh Fruit Portal while raspberries are widely known as a temperate fruit, more growers are taking an interest in the crop in Queensland's sub-tropical Sunshine Coast region.

"The varieties they're using are referred to as "primacanes", so they're fruiting on the new cane that’s developing whereas the other type of raspberries - the floricane - has fruit on the second year cane has to go through a winter dormancy and that initiates the flowers," Eccles says.

"The primacane varieties have allowed us to develop these sub-tropical regions," he says. 

He adds growers in these areas tend to focus on the market from autumn through to the early spring. They could theoretically sell in the summertime, but he claims there is "little point" for the time being when there is already so much produced during that period in the country's south. 

"All the raspberries would be grown in hydroponics, referred to as substrate, and the most popular type of substrate is the coconut peat - coir," he says.

"They’re grown in plastic pots or plastic bags, and obviously there’s plastic tunnel protection as well from the rain which also keeps the plants warm.

"The growers are able to manipulate to some degree the environment within the tunnel by lowering the sides. So there's no actual artificial heating going on – it’s all about controlling the rolling up and down of the blinds with plastic on the sides."

He adds many of the Queensland farmers are already producing strawberries, so the diversification into raspberries is not a "great leap" but does require a bit of homework to ensure good returns on investment. 

He says U.S. company Driscoll's certainly has the "major share" of the winter market with their raspberry variety, in partnership with Australian grower-marketer Costa Group (ASX: CGC), but other major growers are also seizing the opportunity.

"Then we have other companies such as Perfection Fresh who are also interested in winter production, and we’ve now seen BerryWorld [from the U.K.] make an entry into Australia, but it's still very early days. They’re doing an arrangement with an Australian company, Piñata Farms," he says.

Southern expansion in parallel

Eccles says winter raspberry production to provide almost year-round availability has been one of the major drivers for increasing consumption, but that goes hand in hand with consistent supplies from the major growing regions.

"You also need to focus on the summer market as well – you’ve really got to find areas further south in southern Australia in order to give you a 12-month supply of berries," he says.

"It’s not a business of a marketing company just focusing on a few months of the year; you’ve got to make sure you target 12 months."

In line with this philosophy, Eccles says many producers are also looking to expand production in Tasmania which is attractive due to its more moderate climate.

"In Victoria you still can get these summer extremes of the northerly blasts coming down from central Australia, whereas Tasmania offers a more moderate maritime climate and land is invariably cheaper and water is more readily available.

"If you look at transport there is the ferry that goes across the [Bass] Strait twice a day – you can still land berries in Melbourne very competitively even compared to what’s grown in Victoria.

Growers producing in the island state must take the wind into consideration, and the fact they can grow in substrate means they don't have to be so picky about soil conditions.

"Bear in mind that Tasmania is in the Roaring Forties, and plastic and wind don’t mix," he says.

"It’s got to be in sheltered areas but also in areas where you can maximize sunshine, so we’ve seen a lot of development along the north coast of Tasmania.

"There's the northwest, but because we don’t have to rely on soil type, areas to the northeast which don’t have that lovely red volcanic soil still offer good opportunities for location."

He adds the workforce is also an important consideration in determining new production areas in Tasmania, as you still need to be reasonably close to the source of labor.

Less development out west

He says there have been new raspberry developments north of Perth in an area called Gingin, about 100km (62mi) north of the city's central business district.

"It’s quite a popular horticultural area for vegetables now, and water is what’s attracted horticulture to that area so there have been more developments.

"Further south, which is more akin to Victoria, you probably wouldn’t have seen much growth there. And the reason is you’ve really got a focused population in Western Australia.

"Apart from strawberries, there’s really no other berries that get shipped across to the eastern states from Western Australia. The perishable nature of the product just doesn’t allow it to travel, and you’re competing in the same timeslot as the eastern state."

He adds a lack of a sufficient east-west protocol could also be behind the slower development of raspberries in Western Australia.

"In fact we still send berries from Victoria into Western Australia, particularly blackberries from the Yarra Valley," he says.

"Those growers who are involved in sending berries from Victoria to Western Australia have to participate in the Yarra Valley Pest Free Places of Production, which is basically a protocol to ensure and guarantee that there is no Queensland fruit fly in the Victorian berries being sent to Western Australia.

"The other factor is Western Australia does have Mediterranean fruit fly, and for them to send raspberries over to the eastern states they would need to have some sort of protocol as well to manage the quarantine aspects."

Keeping berries top of mind for consumers

Eccles says growers also have retailers to thank for promoting the berry category overall in a way that adapts to consumption habits for the fruit.

"Raspberries are still considered for your average consumer very much an impulse purchase, so what I think has been to the credit of supermarkets has been putting berries out in front; center stage," he says.

"When you walk into the fresh produce section the first thing you see is berries. It’s very hard to resist when you’ve got to walk past them."

The executive says this has definitely been the case with the country's leading two supermarkets Coles and Woolworths, but not so much at Aldi due to the retailer's store format.

"They [Aldi] tend to have fresh produce further down the back," he says.

"Likewise with some of the independents I’ve seen, they do prominent displays at eye level for berries which do attract the consumer.

"I think the other thing that’s been good is selling all the berries together – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries. That basically makes the berry basket; it looks good, they sell themselves."

And what about expanding the category to include other types of berries, like the increased prominence given to physalis/goldenberries in Europe and increasingly in parts of the United States?

"I think you occasionally see them [physalis] but maybe not so much in a supermarket – you would see them in an independent store for a short time and then they’re gone," he says.

"We do see boysenberries quite frequently now, but the growth is creating the interest in other berries as well. 

"Berries not only taste good and provide texture, but they’re renowned for their health benefits too. The packaging is ideally set for convenience, good for snacking for children, so they tick all the boxes in that regard."

Going back to raspberries, he says the sector is still in the "enviable position" of still trying to satisfy domestic demand, and right now exports are very small and oriented towards non-protocol markets like Singapore and Hong Kong.

"But he day will come when that demand will start to taper off and we will need to look at export markets," he says.

"There's already a demand particularly from Japan and Southeast Asia for Australian berries because of the reputation of Australian produce, and ironically we can’t actually send to those countries at the moment because of quarantine barriers."

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