Dried grape news

New agreement for licensed varieties

Significant changes to production fees for some licensed dried grape varieties came into effect from this year’s harvest.

The changes fall under a new five-year agreement for the licensed varieties of Sunglo, Black Gem and Bruce’s Sport FSAC.

Dried Fruits Australia CEO Anne Mansell said the Unique Dried Grape Varieties Committee and DFA board had been working with CSIRO over the past year to negotiate a new agreement.

For Sunglo and Black Gem, the annual production fee has changed from a $200 per hectare charge to a $20 per tonne charge, which brings it in line with other levy charges. The fee will be collected at the delivery point by the licensed receivers – processors Sunbeam foods and Australian Premium Dried Fruits.

“The good news is that the production royalty will only be charged to growers with these varieties for 10 years, starting from when the variety comes into production at year three,” Anne said.

“For existing growers, this will be managed with the information DFA has on file via signed Registered Grower Agreements, and licenced growers and receivers will be notified when the 10-year timeframe is complete. It will also be a feature of all new Registered Grower Agreements.”

Propagation fees haven’t changed and will remain at $1.30 per vine for all varieties.

“For any new plantings, this fee will need to be paid as part of an overall cost to the licenced propagator and a Registered Grower Agreement signed, as has always been the case,” Anne said.

“DFA looks forward to working with new and existing licensed growers, propagators and receivers as well as CSIRO in making these changes as seamless as possible.

“We also encourage growers who are replanting or putting in new plantings to seriously consider these commercialised varieties as they’ve been developed to suit our regional growing conditions.”

Please contact the DFA office if you have any questions. Fact sheets on each of the licensed varieties are also available from the office and DFA website.v

Saving history

The dried grape industry’s long and innovative history has been preserved for years to come with the completion of Dried Fruits Australia’s history project.

The project officially wrapped up in March with Melbourne historian Nikki Henningham’s final visit to Mildura to finish the mammoth task of archiving DFA’s historical records.

Nikki made several visits to DFA headquarters over the past year to sort through boxes of thousands of albums, folders, photographs, clippings and records of the organisation.

The archival work, funded through the Victorian Government’s Local History Grants Program, was due to start in March 2020 but was delayed due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. DFA CEO Anne Mansell said it was a great relief to see the valuable historical information in proper storage containers, which will assist with preservation for future generations.

“Nikki will now be providing a reference tool to assist people with accessing various parts of the collection,” Anne said.

“I’d encourage anyone with an interest in the history of dried grape production and its development; the Australia Dried Fruits Association – as our organisation was previously known; or, more generally, the history of the production region – from Swan Hill through to the Riverland – to contact us so that they can explore the resources we have in storage.” v

DFA joins INC

Dried Fruits Australia is the newest member of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation.

The INC is the international source for information on nuts and dried fruits for health, nutrition, statistics, food safety, government standards, and regulations regarding trade barriers and agricultural quality standards.

Its mission is to stimulate and facilitate sustainable growth in the global nut and dried fruit industry. board of trustees in April, DFA chair Mark King said.

“As a member of the INC, DFA now has access to valuable international trade datasets as well as information on nutrition and health that we can utilise for promotion,” Mark said.

“The INC website contains a full database that offers key information on international trade issues and government regulations regarding trade barriers, food safety, food contaminants and quality standards as well as statistical information, including data on production, imports, exports, supply and domestic consumption of tree nuts, peanuts and dried fruit.”

Below: Historian Nikki Henningham has archived DFA’s historical records, completing the organisation’s conservation project.