The Passion Vine
The Passion Vine – March 2014
Post Office Box 321 Pomona QLD 4568
Page 1
March 2014
Executive Report By Jann Bonsall A belated happy new year to all with the rider that I’m sure a lot of you are not having a particularly happy one! It’s been so dry and although there has been some light rain over the last week or so in the southern regions (SEQ and NNSW) it’s not enough to keep the growers happy! Stories abound about how tough this dry is for everyone. Peanut farmers in Kingaroy are struggling to produce ANY peanuts this year and have cancelled the Peanut Festival in August already. If you consider that peanuts are a dry-resistant commodity, it must mean things ARE tough out there at Kenilworth. And then if you go further west it is dire! It has been a very busy first quarter for 2014 with the Executive meeting at the offices of ABGC on 14th January prior to an IAC meeting at the EcoScience Precinct at Dutton Park on the 15th. The issue of mites affecting growers across all regions was discussed and HAL has lodged applications with APVMA for 2 new permits and a renewal for another. Information about those applications is on pages 12 and 13. During the period from December through to mid-January Scott
Williams, who had been contracted by HAL on behalf of PAI, conducted a review of the PAI Strategic Investment Plan. The aim was to gain growers’ insights and views regarding levy expenditure and its direction in line with the SIP. Scott’s final report has been delivered to HAL and the summary appears later in the Passion Vine on page 8. PAI agreed to hold a General Meeting in Murwillumbah which has been confirmed for Friday 28th March. The full invitation appears on page 9 of the Passion Vine. Most growers and supply chain partners should have already received an invitation both by email and snail mail, so please ensure you RSVP. Prior to the IAC meeting at EcoScience, four Executives and I walked through the Brisbane Markets to look at the presentation and condition of passionfruit on the market. The good fruit was excellent and literally walking out the door, but there were some gobsmackingly appalling fruit that should never have made it into a box let alone to the market. I was in Sydney at the end of January and went to the Sydney markets to see the
quality presented down there. It wasn’t much better although I was fortunate enough not to see ones quite as awful as those in Brisbane. More later on page 14 PAI have also been working in collaboration with the other HAL members to present two submissions as a collective and independently. The first submission was in response to a discussion paper regarding cost recovery for APVMA. There were some serious issues that needed to be addressed particularly for small industries, and with assistance from HAL, PAI were cosignatories to the “whole of industry” submission and made one specifically on behalf of the passionfruit industry. In line with HAL’s role as a Research and Development Corporation for the horticultural industry, an independent review is being undertaken to determine HAL’s performance under the Deed of Agreement between HAL
Continued on page 6 Newsletter of Passionfruit Australia Incorporated