National InfoCitrus development project (CT09034)

This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

The citrus industry had identified the need for nationally coordinated data collection to create a better informed industry, thus allowing more informed business decisions. The CT09034 National InfoCitrus Development Project delivered weekly reports of national citrus dispatched from all major growing regions to all market destinations in Australia and to export markets. This dispatch data was a valuable resource for growers, packers, marketers and industry representatives alike and could be used in day to day decision making or for long term strategic planning, both on farm, in market and across industry.

InfoCitrus was an online data exchange system that allowed individual packing facility operators in the regions to enter citrus dispatch data from their farm or packhouse. The individual businesses' data was collated into a national aggregated report of citrus production and supply estimates. The aggregated data was used by contributors and industry in general for improved varietal, supply, marketing, operational and strategic business decision‐making. InfoCitrus historical data provided a framework to analyse seasonal supply and demand, target production windows, focus market access efforts and build the industry's profile.

The CT09034 National InfoCitrus Development Project was successful in its goal to implement InfoCitrus in all of the five main citrus growing regions of Australia (Queensland, Sunraysia, Riverina, South Australia and Western Australia) and maintained its stated aim of achieving a minimum participation rate of 80 per cent of volume in each region.

InfoCitrus was designed to provide national data that the industry and Citrus Australia could build on to improve knowledge of:

• Seasonal citrus supply;
• Price impacts of over or under supply;
• Supply and market/industry vulnerabilities; and
• Plantings and harvest rate data.

National InfoCitrus reports provided data for many industry representations including to DAFF for the purpose of proving a need for action on certain market access issues. National InfoCitrus reports were used in various national industry meetings such as the Citrus Australia 2011 Export Marketing Forum, the Citrus Australia 2011 National Conference, the 2012 Export Marketing Forum and the 2012 Citrus Australia National Conference. National InfoCitrus reports were used at Citrus Australia’s Domestic Market, Export Market and Varieties committees to guide strategic planning.

InfoCitrus historical reports were used by growers to determine opportunities in production windows for their region and to further justify changes in variety mix on their properties. InfoCitrus had been used to confirm or refute market intelligence that had suggested oversupply of product in both the domestic and export market.

Overall the industry had engaged with the project and had developed many uses for the information it generated.