AUSVEG urges Horticultural Code reform

The national body representing the Australian vegetable industry is supporting calls for reform to the Horticulture Code of Conduct, which regulates sales of fresh fruit and vegetables between growers and traders.

AUSVEG has called on the Australian Government to implement all reforms from the independent review of the code by Mark Napper and Alan Wein, which included 13 recommendations for targeted reforms.

The code has recently been at the heart of high-profile media coverage of several Bundaberg sweet potato growers claiming they were owed a combined total of nearly two million dollars by agents at Melbourne produce markets.

“It is vital that there is a strong, effective code of conduct regulating trading relationships in the horticulture sector, and the recommended reforms would help to increase the code’s ability to provide protections for growers against unfair behaviour from their trading partners,” said AUSVEG spokesperson Jordan Brooke-Barnett.

“We completely agree that the existing dispute resolution process should be replaced with an improved system. On top of this, we absolutely agree with the reviewers’ recommendation that the code should be amended to provide for civil penalties and infringement notices for breaches of the code.”

Brooke-Barnett said there was consistent anecdotal evidence from growers suggesting that there are systemic issues within the horticulture trading landscape.