ON LANDthe Costa calls for more export market access

A BID to relaunch Queensland’s fruit and vegetable exports has reignited following reports one of the country’s largest avocado growers was considering selling its farms.

Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter said if a big company like Costa was cutting back on avocados, then inevitably, small farmers would go to the wall.

A recent media report stated that the company was looking at “trimming” some of its avocado farms, however late last week the company rejected that premise.

A Costa Group spokesperson said the company’s preference was to not have to divest from any of their farms and no decisions had yet been made despite recent media reports.

“Costa is also continuing to call for more to be done to open up export market access for Queensland grown avocados into Japan,” the spokesperson said.

“It remains frustrating that avocados can be exported from Western Australia to Japan, but not from Queensland or New South Wales, where more than 60 percent of Australia’s crop is grown.

“Opening up further access would provide a genuine opportunity to supply the Japan market almost year-round from Australia and provide certainty for the industry.”

To achieve this, the Costa Group has joined hands with Mr Katter as “he understands the importance of this issue to all avocado farmers, especially family run farms.”

Costa is looking forward to the Federal Agriculture and Trade Ministers working closely together with their respective Japanese counterparts to achieve important access to Japanese markets in 2023.

Mr Katter said the key to opening up the export market was to finish building a fumigation facility in Cairns.

“When I was the Minister for Northern Development (in State Parliament), we realised that we had to put a fumigation plant in Cairns, which is one of the centres of fruit and vegetable growing in Australia but the government went down before we got it in,” he said.

“Thirty years later, we still haven't got a fumigation plant and it is quite justified for another country to say 'If you want to send bananas, mangoes or whatever to us, then we don't want any of your diseases; we want it fumigated before it leaves Australia’.

“Build a fumigation plant in Cairns or your free trade agreements are worthless, it is desperately needed, build a fumigation plant now if you are fair dinkum about exporting fruit and vegetables from this country.”

Farm accommodation gets go ahead

MORE rural workers will be able to vacate town rentals and live on farm after Mareeba Shire Council approved plans for more on-farm accommodation at its recent meeting.

The accommodation will be built at 57 Studt Road just outside of Mareeba and will take the form of two prefabricated buildings, providing a total of six ensuite rooms to house 12 individual workers. The workers will live on the farm and help with day-to-day operations of the orchard as well as the picking and packing of seasonal produce.

Mayor Angela Toppin said it was good to see more and more on-farm accommodation applications come before council as it took the stress off the already strained rental market.

Congratulations on Rail Trail decision

I WISH to congratulate the TRC Council in formally adopting the Rail Trail Advisory Committee Management Plan at their meeting on Thursday 23 February.

With the adoption of the Rail Trail Management Plan community groups volunteering their time in tree planting and maintaining the trail will have confidence that the TRC Council will consult with the community in the event of changes and/or businesses looking to annex Rail Trail land.

The decision to stop tree planting on the Rail Trail between Manthey and Beantree Road at Tolga Industrial Estate may well have resulted in a positive decision, to plant, if the TRC Councillor's had consulted with the community particularly when the council officers recommended that planting go ahead.

I would urge the TRC Councillor’s to revisit this decision, accept their council officers recommendation in this case, to plant, await any business proposals to annex and/ or push back the Rail Trail behind the Tolga

Industrial Estate and if government/private funding is indeed available to carry out any capital works that would be required to push back the Rail Trail.

After all, in this event, with a big if in the forseeable future, the few trees that would have been planted and those in the way may be removed.

Ray Francis ATHERTON

Correct outcome by TRC

THE correct decision was made (by TRC on 8 February) and the four councillors who voted to holt the planting of trees on the eastern side of the industrial properties should be commended.

Incidentally, from my observation, these four are the ones always asking the right questions and continually hold the TRC organisation to account in both financial matters and creating outcomes for the greater good of everyone and not just particular groups.

It appears that the tree planters got a win and the trees already planted are allowed to stay.