Export

In the orchards stretching south of Santiago, the mood has shifted. Only a few years ago, these same rows of cherry trees symbolized one of the most spectacular agricultural success stories of the modern era. Growers spoke of “red gold.” Exporters chased volumes with confidence bordering on certainty. Investors ripped out vineyards and replanted cherries,…

2023 has been a busy year for us and our customers. It’s been a year where we’ve travelled and met with new markets, have rolled out new technologies and seen our clients achieve new efficiencies and flexibility to upgrade and meet demand as their businesses grow. But first, let’s start with a big one… GP…

This year we celebrate 60 years in business, although we’ve been around orchards and the fruit-picking industry for much longer than that. 1963 was the year our journey to design and manufacture the best sorting and grading solutions for fresh producers and packers around the globe began. From simple sorting machines to our revolutionary GP…

For the last two years, Australian growers have suffered the effects of a Chinese trade ban on Australian products, including fruit. The ban was initially put in place due to political tensions arising when then Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, many of the…

We recently dropped by SM Export in Curicó, Chile, to have a chat with Jaime Arrieta (Operations Manager), about their packhouse processes, grader performance and the cherry harvest season that’s just wrapped up. What size are your orchards and how long have you been growing cherries? We have 331 há. of cherries with 205 há….

February brings a close to the 2022/23 Australian cherry season and as we clean our machinery, lock our packing sheds, and prepare for the year to come, it’s well worth taking time to look back. Here are our key reflections on the season that was. A wet start to the season Heavy rainfall associated with…

Our recent attendance at the Berlin edition of Fruit Logistica was a truly wonderful return to face-to-face networking and connection. Arguably the most important trade show on the horticulture industry’s calendar, this 3-day event brings together nearly 2600 exhibitors from 92 countries to present their latest products, services and innovations. With our international partners, Milbor PMC and A&B…

Strong international demand and consumers’ desire to eat blueberries year-round presents a unique opportunity for local growers and packers to ready their blueberries for export. The growth of the blueberry category is evident in markets such as China, where consumers are particularly interested in the fruit’s health benefits. Opportunities for Australian growers extends well beyond…

The Honourable Linda Dessau AC, Victoria’s 29th governor, and the first female in the role, graciously made the time to visit GP Graders earlier this month and may we just say, it was an absolute joy to meet and discuss both the history of GP Graders and some of what the future has in stall…

What was it all about? From 2019 to 2022, this ‘Cherry Market Access and Trade Development’ project (CY18002) supported the export readiness of the Australian cherry industry to help Australian cherry growers to take advantage of existing, new and emerging export opportunities. When this project commenced, the Australian cherry industry was (and still is) in…

Around 15 years ago, sales of mechanical graders for cherries came to a grinding hold. Practically overnight, sales went from countless builds to less than a few in a year. It was the introduction of electronic vision grading systems that marked the monumental shift and it has forever changed the way cherries are packed, priced…

Versión en español The 2020/21 southern hemisphere cherry export season ended with a record 366,543 tons, or 52% more than the previous season. This new record figure was thanks to exports from Chile, which increased by 54.4% to 352,949 tons. The remarkable growth in exports from Chile is explained by the fact that more than…

GP Graders has become a flag-bearer for Australian manufacturing and exporting with its cutting-edge fruit sorting technology being exported to Chile, the US, Canada and Europe. GP Graders’ export success is two-fold; as they supply this technology to local Australian exporting companies, improving their efficiency and allowing them to better compete in international markets. In…

When we first considered exporting manufacturing equipment as a business strategy we already had some demand for our cherry grading equipment. Early on, one Italian customer purchased three of our machines to sort and grade cherries. It was from this one customer – who happened to have a very high profile in the industry –…