EFFORTS TO SUPPORT LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE HORTICULTURE SECTOR ARE PRIORITISED BY GOVERNMENT.  

The horticulture industry is facing unprecedented challenges - from significant increases to the cost of production, a complex regulatory landscape, challenges with labour security, a slow market access negotiation process restricting trade growth and biosecurity threats, just to name a few. These issues and many more are severely impacting the profitability of the industry, especially small to medium sized businesses with many Queensland crops receiving similar farm gate return prices to 2015, despite the increase in the cost of production.  

The inability to pass these increases in cost of production through the supply chain is unfortunately not well understood and often not considered by policy makers.  

Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers advocates for:  

  • Minimising the regulatory burden on growers by modelling regulatory best practices, including regulating only where necessary, when there is a clear problem that cannot be addressed by other means, such as market mechanisms, voluntary standards, or self-regulation. 

  • Prioritising international market access and building the strength of alternative domestic markets to retail such as food service and independent retail.  

  • Review all Federal Government regulation and voluntary standards as it applies to the national horticulture industry and supply chain and update existing prescriptive, process driven regulations with risk-based and outcome-oriented alternatives. 

  • Development of a strategic plan as a priority for food and agriculture to ensure the future viability of farmers so that consumers can continue to access high quality, affordable Australian food, fibre and foliage.  

  • All levels of government to work constructively with industry to eliminate duplicate and excessive bureaucratic red and green tape wherever possible. The benefits of regulation must outweigh the costs of doing so to ensure the agriculture sector can maximise efficiencies and realise its potential.