AUSVEG is calling on Australia’s commercial vegetable growers to take part in the latest Vegetable Industry Sentiment Survey to ensure that most urgent industry issues are top of the policy agenda, as Federal Parliament resumes later on 22 July.
Across the broader business community, key themes around productivity, compliance, workforce and trade are also shaping up to be the top items for vegetable, potato and onion growers across the country.
2025 is proving to be another challenging year for the sector, with the cost-of-production crisis, margin squeeze, ongoing labour challenges, and ever-increasing compliance burden still hot topics.
The last AUSVEG Vegetable Industry Sentiment Report released in February reaffirmed some alarming trends that emerged during 2024.
Nearly a third of growers who responded were considering leaving the industry within the next year, with another third, while not considering leaving, would change their mind if they received a decent offer.
As well, 40 percent of respondents said they were financially worse off than the previous year, and many growers were continuing to delay or reduce investing in capital infrastructure improvements.
AUSVEG general manager for Public Affairs Lucy Gregg said, “In the past six months the results of previous surveys have been widely referenced by the Government, industry leaders, and media.
“As well the 2024 Industry Sentiment Report was integral to the development of AUSVEG’s 2025 Federal Election priorities and were used throughout our advocacy activities before and during the election.
“The concerns repeatedly raised by growers about the growing compliance burden is why AUSVEG has commissioned Corporate Value Associates to develop an independent and comprehensive White Paper, Horticulture Compliance and Regulation: Reducing the Burden by 2030, to map out an efficient and streamlined regulatory future for the industry.
“It will propose short- and longer-term solutions to reduce duplication, streamline processes, prioritise risk-based compliance, and increase efficiencies, and will be completed before the end of 2025.
“To ensure AUSVEG continues to advocate effectively, we are calling on growers to take part in the Vegetable Industry Sentiment Survey and ensure the issues, and potential solutions are brought to the attention of politicians, policy makers and key decision-makers.”
The latest survey covers workforce challenges, productivity, future outlook, succession planning, margin squeeze, business and finance, and input costs. All responses are anonymous and confidential.
The AUSVEG Vegetable Industry Sentiment Survey has been conducted every six months since 2023.
This will be the fifth survey.
