Australian Growers Fund To Promote Industry

Australian vegetable growers plan a A$2 million (US$1.49 million) fighting fund to promote Australian grown products and fight to have imports more accurately labeled. One of the country's big banks is accepting donations to the fund from the public.

"The vegetable and potato industry is worth more than A$2.5 billion (US$1.87 billion) and the entire Australian horticulture industry generates around A$6.5 billion (US$4.87 billion) per annum," AUSVEG Chairman Mike Badcock said.
"The funding will be used to inform consumers about the benefits of our products over imports. It will be used to convince the Australian government to get serious about accurate labeling, quality assurance and residue testing.
"Our industry is already suffering from a flood of cheap imported packaged and frozen vegetables that are often labeled as having been packaged in Australia even though the produce comes from Asia. We also want to ensure that these products have been grown in accordance with the stringent quality and environmental regulations covering Australian produce."