FED:Apples cheaper, but growers out of pocket

     CANBERRA, June 1 AAP - Apples might be cheaper in future thanks to imports, but it
will come at a price to Australia's growers, a new report says.
     They are expected to lose a third of their income should Australia let in apples from
New Zealand, China and the United States - a loss worth $140 million a year.
     The report, requested by the local apple industry, says that in just three years, farmers
 can expect their salaries to go down by 32 per cent, with imported apples securing almost a quarter of the market.
     It will be a win for consumers, with prices going down on average 21 per cent.                 
      Apples from New Zealand will be of the same high quality taste-wise, but will be 61
per cent cheaper, while US ones will cost 28 per cent less and Chinese apples 18 per cent
less.
     Apple consumption will also jump by 17 per cent. But Australia's apple production sector will ultimately take the fall for those figures,decreasing in size by 11 per cent.
     Apple and Pear Australia (APAL) chairman Darral Ashton said the report painted a grim
picture for local growers.
     "Apples have been imported into Australia for the first time in 90 years due to a change
in government regulation," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
     "It's the biggest challenge our industry has faced since England joined the common
market in 1972."
     The first shipment of Chinese apples arrived in Australia at the beginning of the year,
while apples from New Zealand could potentially be imported starting August.
     Biosecurity Australia is awaiting more information before it gives a formal green light
to the importation of US apples.