Indigenous communities in Arnhem Land are busy harvesting red bush apples and, for the first time, have started selling the native fruit commercially.

The Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation at Maningrida is coordinating the wild harvest and has been overwhelmed by people looking to get involved.

"There's been a lot of interest from the community and we've got people coming in each day with loads of bush apples," the corporation's Jonathon Buckingham said.

"So people living out on the many Homelands in the region are out harvesting them every day.

"They are essentially a really big lilly pilly, which have a large seed inside them with a fair bit of flesh — they're bright red and they've got a nice sweet-and-sour taste, they're very good."

Mr Buckingham said the first commercial harvest was going well and the region expected to sell up to 1.5 tonnes.

He said those harvesting the apples were getting paid per kilogram and paid on the day of delivery, and there was a lot of excitement when the first boxes were flown to customers in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Mr Buckingham said the bright red fruit could be worth more than $30/kg on the market.

Red bush apples are packed and made ready for market. ( Supplied: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation )

Top chefs keen for Top End fruit

Mr Buckingham said interstate restaurants were keen to experiment with the unique flavours of the red bush apple.

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"We actually had a chef visit Maningrida not too long ago, and he made a nice red apple crumble, with a green-ant yoghurt on top, which was really good and everyone here was very happy to try it out," he said.

He said there was a lot of enthusiasm in the region to expand on this year's first harvest.

"Our hope is this becomes a business that sticks around in Maningrida and doesn't go away," Mr Buckingham said.

"We hope it's an industry that employs local people and provides a bit of alternative income for people living out on the Homelands in the Maningrida area.

"I think the bush food industry is continually growing, so I think we're in a pretty good place now going forward."

Sharing a Top End treat

Leila Nimbadja has been working at the local nursery in Maningrida, which has been acting as a collection point for people to bring in their bush apples.

She said the biggest challenge was making sure people did not bring in fruit that was not ripe.

"We need them big and red," she told ABC Rural.

Red bush apples from Arnhem Land. ( Supplied: Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation )

Ms Nimbadja said there were a few different varieties of bush apple that were harvested from the wetlands, floodplains, and even the beach areas of Maningrida.

She said they tasted beautiful and were perfect for desserts.

"I sometimes crush the bush apple and add some yoghurt and honey on top; it's very good," she said.

"My hope is that people can go out on country and pick these and work on the outstations.

"And [yes, it would] be nice for the rest of Australia to try it."

The community at Maningrida has been commercially harvesting a variety of native fruits this year and, with the help of the Indigenous Land Corporation, the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation became an inaugural member of the Northern Australia Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance.