Quarantine issues I am sure all of you would be aware by now that the draft Import Risk Analysis on the importation of fresh bananas from the Philippines has recommended against allowing the importation of Philippines bananas into Australia. Biosecurity Australia has taken this decision because no feasible risk management measures could be identified that would reduce the risk of entry, establishment and spread of Moko sufficiently to meet Australia's acceptable level of protection (ALOP).
In relation to the other pests of quarantine concern Biosecurity Australia has proposed area freedom regimes as a risk management measure for Black Sigatoka and Freckle and the use of an insecticidal treatment (fumigation) for mealy bugs. Debate about whether the Philippines could meet the risk management measures proposed for these other pests is somewhat academic because unless or until risk management measures exist for Moko that meet Australia's ALOP these other pests do not come into play.
The Council continues to monitor all developments in relation to this issue and has retained the financial capacity to respond immediately to any new threat. This has only been made possible by strong grower support for the Imports Fighting Fund levy.
Imports Committee The Imports Committee met four times in the last financial year. The committee's primary responsibilities are to develop strategies for responding to the Philippines imports application and to provide information that assists the Board in developing imports policy.
BIFF Levy reduced In October 2002 the Imports Committee agreed to reduce the Banana Imports Fighting Fund Levy from 10 cents to 1 cent per carton effective from 1 November. Although a final IRA had not yet been released the committee felt that the levy could be reduced because reserves were at an acceptable level and imports related expenditure had decreased to a more sustainable level.
Plant Health Australia The Council retains membership of Plant Health Australia on behalf of all banana growers. PHA has been extremely active in the past 12-months producing the following discussion papers and distributing them to industry for comment:
Annual Operational Plan 2002-2003
Annual Operational Plan Review 2001-2002
Member/stakeholder survey report
National Weeds Workshop - workshop proceedings
Cost sharing case studies - workshop report 2002
Revised Karnal Bunt Cost Sharing Case Study
Cost sharing case studies
Industry Biosecurity Planning Guidelines
Stocktake of Existing Systems for Contingency Planning and Response Action: Part II
An assessment of the human resources involved in diagnostics for plant insect and disease pest papers and distributing them to industry for comment.
The Council has also recently embarked upon a collaborative effort with PHA to develop a National Banana Industry Biosecurity Plan for the Australian banana industry. The plan will provide a framework for the management of key banana plant health risks through the application of appropriate exclusion, eradication and control measures.
Horticulture Australia Council At its Board meeting in July the Horticulture Australia Council decided to pursue the establishment of a full time secretariat located at NFF house in Canberra and to become a member of NFF. The reasons for this relate primarily to enhancing HAC's effectiveness as the peak industry body for horticulture. The move to NFF house and the establishment of a full time office will be funded through an increase in HAC membership fees together with some sponsorship.
Horticulture Australia Limited Horticulture Australia Limited has recently held its second annual general meeting as a limited company and is continuing to pursue a strategy of:
Less complicated processes for allocating funds;
More market-relevant and market focussed investment; and
A one-stop shop for business.
Excel-erate The board have approved the development of a comparative analysis system for the banana industry. The system, to be titled EXCEL-ERATE provides a moving picture of business performance against peers and targets. It provides data to growers to facilitate continuous business improvement ultimately assisting to deliver:
Better product outturn
Reduced costs / increased profit
Better records meeting QA, EMS etc
Better identification of benefit vs. cost
Better business planning
Excelerate is simple, efficient and cost effective, and you don't need to own a computer to get involved. If you would like to find out more about this exciting program please contact Industry Development Manager, John Loydell for an information pack.
Strategic planning In June the ABGC organised a 2-day banana industry strategic planning workshop to develop a work and R&D plan for the next 3 years. Workshop attendee's came from all over Australia and included growers, researchers, funding providers, wholesalers, and market representatives. An enormous number of ideas and comments were generated over the 2-days and this information was then distilled down to the following strategic priority areas:
Industry unification, with ABGC as a strong and effective peak body;
Greater accessibility to information to enable growers to adopt more professional farm and business management practices;
Anticipating and meeting emerging consumer requirements from bananas, in whatever form;
Developing an environmentally sustainable and viable industry;
Minimising the future likelihood of pest and disease incursion.
Industry review One of the recommendations to arise from the strategic planning process was for the initiation of a review of the structure, funding and representational arrangements of the Australian banana industry. The concept of the review has now been approved by the board and a funding submission has been lodged with HAL. The review will be conducted by an experienced consultancy firm with the emphasis to be placed upon development of strategies for implementing review recommendations. Every banana grower in Australia will have an opportunity to contribute to the review through responses to written questionnaires, stakeholder meetings or individual submissions.
Industry Advisory Committee for R&D Recently the Board agreed to establish a voluntary Banana Industry Advisory Committee whose role is to prioritise the R&D initiatives contained within the industry strategic plan for each impending 12-month funding period. By prioritising R&D initiatives annually researchers will have a better idea of the sort of projects they should be developing in order to attract industry funding.
UNEBAM The Directors of Unebam the banana based health product have advised that they have entered into formal negotiations with a major pharmaceutical company about the prospects of establishing a full commercialisation agreement for Unebam. The agreement could potentially see the product distributed through retail outlets nationwide.
Australian Bananas magazine You will note that our flagship magazine has undergone a facelift with increased emphasis being placed on internal layout and design features that enhance readability. We have also contracted a professional copywriter in an effort to tighten the magazines focus and generally raise the overall quality of this widely respected publication.
Website This year will also see the upgrading of the ABGC website with an increased emphasis being placed on communication of the results of industry research and development projects. The new website format is easier to maintain therefore information contained on the site will be updated more regularly. It is interesting to note that an average of 3000 hits per month are registered on the site which only reinforces the need to ensure the information contained on the site is up to date.
Industry Development Manager project The IDM project capably managed by Mr John Loydell is now in its third and final year. The ABGC Board consider projects of this type to be very important for communicating research and development project outcomes in a format that facilitates their adoption. This in turn increases the overall efficiency and hopefully profitability of Australian banana growers. As the IDM John Loydell has also been responsible for managing the following industry initiatives:
Development of banana product description language;
Continued refinement and updating of the industry's website;
Editing of the Australian Bananas magazine; and
Management of the Excelerate comparative analysis program.
Board Directors 2001/2002 The Board met on the following occasions during the 2001/2002 financial year:
21 August, ABGC offices in Brisbane
28 November, ABGC offices in Brisbane
15 February, ABGC offices in Brisbane
27 May, ABGC offices in Brisbane
Composition of the Board for 2002 was as follows:
Mr GS McCudden (President)
Mrs VA Kippin-O'Connor (Vice-President)
Mr P Leahy
Mr WF McFie
Mr J Benning
Mr C Mackay
Mr B Ward (following the resignation of Mr A Moorhead)
Mr P Bale
Staff On behalf of the Board I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the ABGC staff for their assistance and commitment over the past 12 months. I believe that the calibre of our staff has long been one of the strengths of this organisation and we are indeed fortunate to have such a talented team of individuals working on our behalf.
In March this year the ABGC farewelled its founding full time Chief Executive Officer Mr Ross Boyle who accepted a position as Chief Executive Officer of the Banana Industry Committee now known as Bananas NSW. Ross's enthusiasm and commitment to the banana industry is well known and we are pleased that his wealth of knowledge and experience has not been lost to the industry.
In April we appointed Mr Tony Heidrich to the position of Chief Executive Officer. Many of you would remember Tony from his time as the north Queensland Banana Industry Liaison Officer based in Tully. Tony joined ABGC at a crucial time in the organisations fight to keep Philippine imports out of Australia and since his arrival has played a key role in implementing our anti Philippine banana imports strategy.
Acknowledgments On behalf of the Council I would also like to thank the following organisations for the assistance they have provided to the Council at various times throughout the past 12 months. These organisations include all the State Departments of Agriculture, QDPI, AFFA, QFVG, HAL, AABW, Acclaim Special Events and Meeting Management, local producer associations, research agencies, wholesalers, retailers, and associated service industries. Your support is much appreciated.
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