Welcome to the AHEA website..... The Australian Horticultural Exporters Association is an independant and autonomous association of Australian horticultural exporter organisations which represents the interests of its members to Government and Industry in the pursuit of improving the profitability and sustainability of the fresh horticultural  export industry.    Dont get shipwrecked when you Export in 2012!!! It costs as little as $10.00* a week to be kept informed about export market conditions! If you are an exporter,grower, packer or involved in Australian horticultural exports, then there's plenty of good reasons to join the Peak industry body that represents Australian Horticultural Exporters and keeps them informed. Membership and Subscriber enquiries Become a Subscriber or Member . Click on the link for details Become a member Today! –  It costs as little as $10.00 a week to join the A.H.E.A.! * new member offer ( plus GST ) Sponsorship and Advertising enquiries. Your organization could regularly reach our readers who are involved with , or interested in fruit and vegetable exporting. Click on the heading for more details or contact us at ahea@ahea.com.au

Aussie Dollar falls on fears for eurozone! The AUD has dropped below the 99.0 US cents mark as fears grow that the eurozone debt crisis will worsen.  Early this morning (Friday) (AEST) the AUD was trading at 98.85 US cents which is down from 99.47 US cents Thursday.  There are no domestic economic data releases expected today.  In major currency cross rates .......................... More in Industry News.   Last updated 18 May 2012

Market prices for fresh fruit in China! Looking for fresh fruit prices in wholesale markets in China? Go to our Industry news pages for details. AHEA  May 2012 Recommended minimum prices for mandarins to China Go to Market Access pages. AHEA May 2012 Exporters continue to be battered by strength of dollar  More than 40% of Exporters blame the strength of the AUD as the reason for the lowering of their 'appetite' to borrow. A large percentage of businesses with revenue between $5M and $25M say they are less likely to take on any further debt and for companies over $25M the demand for loans has fallen 18%.  AHEA 14/3/12. Indonesia closure of Jakarta port confirmed delay until June 19. Exporters welcome the Australian Government's announcement of the decision by Indonesia to delay the implementation of proposed quarantine arrangements which threaten to impede horticultural exports to the country.  ..................................... Full story see Industry news AHEA 9 March 2012 BAF's up as oil prices increase! Shipping Australia Ltd has announced BAF increases for South East Asia ( effective 25 Feb ) and North and east Asia Conferences ( effective March 10, and again March 31 ). For details go to Freight and Logistics pages.  AHEA 1 March 2012 Exporters concerned at POM license fee! A plan to introduce a port licensing fee at POM ( Port of Melb ) from 1 July 2012 has been described as totally unacceptable by APSA ( Aust Peak Shippers Association ). Exporters are now to pay A$100 per container including the channel deepening charge and the new licensing fee to ship via the POM creating another impost for exporters in addition to a strong Aussie dollar which is driving costs through the roof and making exports uncompetitive. Rob Coode the new President of APSA criticised the Victorian Government over the complete lack of clarity over how the taxes will be spent, claiming there is little clarity on State Government plans to resolve port congestion in the immediate future. AHEA 1 March 2012   Exporter's angry at scrapping of 10 year rebate agreement. Australia’s horticultural exporters are angry at the Govt's decision earlier this year to end a 10 year agreement to rebate 40% of the excessive AQIS fees and charges. The Gov't Budget has made no allowance to assist struggling exporters, facing a continuing high Australian dollar, to pay the excessive costs of export inspection and certification fees, for fresh produce exports which are charged out at currently A$272 per hour for field inspections. The Federal Government has moved to claw back more than the full cost of export inspection and to recover back room costs to help DAFF's burgeoning overhead costs for an inefficient Government service that remains costly and under resourced.  More in Industry News ...AHEA  Dec 2011 A mobile app and online resources for Horticulture DPI Victoria has launched the HIN Online Resource Library which is a free service for exporters, growers and anyone interested in accessing relevant information for horticulture including research literature, reports, videos, posters, presentations and images and the HIN Hort Service Finder is available to download free from iTunes App Store, see www.hin.com.au/Home  More in Industry News.  DFPIVic Nov 2011 AQIS costs for export inspection damaging export trade Australian fresh fruit and vegetable Exporters are paying two to three times more for quarantine export inspection as other Southern Hemisphere exporting countries such as Chile, New Zealand and South Africa.  The Federal Government’s well considered move to full cost recovery of AQIS inspection and certification charges is seen as out of step with our global competitors and it is hurting Australian exporting companies by increasing the cost of doing business at a time when we have an overvalued  currency, the highest labour rates and depressed global markets. Industry observers are bemused that an industry that is the biggest primary industry employer of more than 70,000 people across rural Australia cannot get a few million dollars worth of financial relief to help the industry continue to export. The Chairman of the Australian Horticultural Exporters Association, David Hunt-Sharman, says the high Australian Dollar, and bad weather conditions impacting the major growing regions, has cost the sector more than $200 million over the past two years. Full story Industry news......  D.Hunt-Sharman AHEA Chairman  Sept 2011

A horticultural Quiz ! 1. What perennial vegetables can reproduce on their own for several growing seasons without the need for replanting? 2. What fruit has its seeds on the outside of the fruit? 3. Name the only fresh fruit or vegetable that is normally never sold frozen, canned or cooked? 4. What is the other name for a kiwifruit? 5. What is Brix when talking about fruit? For Answers......... go to Industry News pages Can't access all the news stories?........ Become a subscriber today!      ************************************************************

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