THEY are figures bound to ruffle feathers within the wider agriculture industry.
Summed up- horticulture gives more bang for buck when it comes to water usage.
Speaking at the Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) Post Harvest Seminar in Attwood, Victoria in January, CEO and director of Greeneye Markets, Brad Georges addressed the topic of re-engineering post-harvest costs and packing for export.
However it was his comments and figures on comparative water usage that really prompted discussion.
Greeneye Markets works with water and emissions brokers to provide trading systems for water within the Murray Darling Basin, selling and licensing a suite of frequent trader technologies and related intellectual property.
Mr Georges took the opportunity behind the microphone to talk up the positive attributes of horticulture's water use.
"In working with the irrigation and water marketplace, as an economist with a financial background, I really came to understand just how much value horticulture adds to water," he said.
"In fact there's 30 to 50 times more value added to a megalitre of water than dairy or the pastoral industries and it also creates a lot more employment per hectare as well."
His figures showed an orchard provides 20-30 times more employment per hectare than other agriculture industries, while providing 30-50 times more income from export per 100ha.
Another graph indicated orchards provide 50-60 times more income per ML of irrigation water used than dairy or arable production.
"It's a real delight to be here in front of the people, I think, will become the leaders in growing the apple and pear industry for the next 20 years, and maybe seeing that we become a very significant exporter as we are in wheat and sheep and wool and dairy and other industries as well," Mr Georges said.
Export potential lies ready
IN terms of re-engineering post harvest apple processing for export, Mr Georges gave four processes he thought needed to happy to firm up overseas markets.
He said those wishing to export should remove the use of diphenylamine (DPA), a post harvest dip used to treat scald.
"If you want to export to somewhere like Europe, you've got to be DPA free," Mr Georges said.
Secondly, he said a move to mechanise tipping and grading would improve output volumes.
His third point was to have growers pack directly into export bins to save overseas clients from having to re-pack Australian product.
"A lot of our competitors are shipping directly with export bins. We spend a lot on wrapping in plastic and so forth," Mr Georges said.
The fourth process advised was to store apples directly into a refrigerated transportable unit (a "reefer") that is ready to be shipped off.
He then challenged the entire industry to consider building a post-harvest export industry to put a floor under the Australian apple market.
Mr Georges said Australia could export apples competitively but it would require investment in best practices to increase labour productivity and reduce unit production costs.
He encouraged the industry to work with local communities to find and train cost-effective labour for both orchards and nurseries.
