Japanese consumers build appetite for Australian 'red-tipped' bananas

Ecoganic bananas, identified by their tips dipped in red wax, are being regularly exported to Japan after months of trials and market testing.

Pioneered by Innisfail farmers Frank and Dianne Sciacca in Far North Queensland about 20 years ago, Ecoganic is an accredited farming system that uses natural ecosystems and minimal inputs to produce the fruit.

Mr Sciacca said the story behind the fruit had resonated with Japanese consumers.

"The Japanese culture is one where they like their food, they like to know how their food is presented, the meaning of their food, how it's grown," he said.

"I think that was a very important part of us being able to get our product into Japan."

He said it had also helped to value-add in a market with competition from other Asian countries.

Mr Sciacca has been working with Japanese importer Tomoki Tokuda from Pacific Coast Asia Company, who said the target customers were middle-to-high-income-earners and international visitors.

"They care more about the farming story, taste and quality than just the price,"

Mr Tokuda said.

"Japanese consumers are very interested in special farming methods, and they have high expectations for taste and quality."

Import volumes

Mr Tokuda said fortnightly imports of 1,200 kilograms began on October 23, and he hoped to increase that to 3,000 kilograms within three years.

He said so far, the feedback had been excellent.

The red wax-tipped bananas can be found in two Japanese supermarkets — one in the Kanto region, the other in Hokkaido — and in 60 restaurants across the country.

"We are still in the early stages of developing the Japanese market.

"We are expanding our sales channels, and more people are starting to recognise Ecoganic bananas," he said.

Fewer than 0.1 per cent of Australian bananas are exported, according to peak body the Australian Banana Growers Council.

Mr Sciacca said while he was excited to see the Japanese market flourish, if export volumes increased, he would need more than the current handful of growers to meet demand.

"I don't think with all the growers that we've got now we would be able to supply because we can see that the Japanese market will certainly grow a lot more," he said.

"It has a greater potential to grow. There's a lot of people in Japan, it's a big market."

Red-tipped papaya

In the domestic market, the Ecoganic system has been successfully applied to another fruit for the first time in a decade.

Ecoganic papayas grown in north Queensland have been sent to Melbourne.

Innisfail farmer Will Darveniza, who already grew the red-tipped bananas, this year received his certification to produce papayas under the brand as well.

"We'll only be using a small portion of [the farm] … to start off with, and then once demand builds, we'll match our supplier to that demand," he said.

"The end goal for us is going to be export with this product."

The tropical fruit has caught the eye of importer Mr Tokuda too.

He said while there was not a current market for papayas in Japan, he was confident he could create one.