Severe weather events are rare occurrences in Australia and even in the nation’s cyclone belt it is rare for a large cyclone to make landfall in a populated area.
This lack of first-hand experience can make dealing with the aftermath of a severe weather event all the more challenging. Such was the case on the morning of 20 March 2006 when Tropical Cyclone Larry (category five) crossed the north Queensland coast near Innisfail bringing with it 300km/h winds. The damage to livelihoods, homes and infrastructure was on a scale seldom seen in this country.
The virtual total destruction of the national banana crop was television news footage for weeks and came to symbolise for most Australians the scale of the disaster and its impact on the region.
It was a miracle that no lives were lost as a direct result of the cyclone but the disruption to people’s lives and the economic capacity of the region will take years to redress.
Fortunately the response from the state and commonwealth governments was swift and generous, with the delivery of basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter a priority. Some financial assistance for the general population soon followed before the rollout of more targeted financial assistance measures for affected businesses, including farmers. This was an extremely bust period for the Council as we lobbied the Prime Minister, Queensland Premier and ministers to ensure the assistance was commensurate with the scale of the disaster.
Of particular concern was the potential loss of skilled workers from the region. The Council lobbied vigorously for a worker wage subsidy so that farmers could afford to retain some skilled workers initial farm production was restored.
Visits by the Prime Minister and the Premier were a morale boost in the days immediately following the cyclone, as was the announcement by the Premier of the appointment of General Peter Cosgrove to oversee the cyclone recovery effort.
The ABGC was also given responsibility for the appointment and oversight of a government-funded Industry Recovery Officer (Mark Warmington) to assist banana growers in accessing the various cyclone assistance measures made available to them under the broader cyclone recovery program. Our thanks go to Mark who carried out his responsibilities with distinction under very difficult circumstances.
With the vast majority of Australia’s commercial banana crop located in the wet tropics, Cyclone Larry had demonstrated just how vulnerable Australia’s banana supplies are to a severe cyclonic event.
As an industry, we can count ourselves lucky that we do have banana production areas outside the wet tropics and in my view we must do what we can to ensure we maintain this geographical spread in production areas.
Finally we must also spare a thought for those loyal banana consumers who have struggled to source regular supplies of their favourite fruit whilst having to pay dearly for the privilege.
By and large consumers have been extremely understanding of our predicament and they have continued to buy bananas at unheard of prices.
We thank the banana consumers of Australia for their loyalty and we look forward to their continued support as banana volumes increase in coming months.
National Levy
The Council continued to explore options for the establishment of a compulsory national levy to fund banana promotions and research activity. A new levy proposal will be put to all commercial banana growers in a formal ballot.
It is the Council’s view that a national levy is essential to the long-term health and viability of the Australian banana industry.
ABGC makes no apologies for continuing to pursue the establishment of a levy in spite of the defeat of its first levy proposal at a ballot in November 2005.
Imports
This was a relatively quiet year for imports with no new draft Import Risk Analysis released or significant adjustment to IRA policy announced.
The Council did however continue to work behind the scenes tightening up its scientific case so that it is in a position to respond quickly and decisively when the next draft IRA is eventually released.
The Council will continue to oppose any importation of fresh bananas from the Philippines on the basis if the unacceptable pest and disease risk imports from such countries pose to our domestic banana industry.
It remains our view that there are no risk management measures available that could lower the risks associated with imported bananas to an acceptable level.
The cyclone-induced banana shortage placed additional pressure on the federal government to relax the ban on imported bananas. Both the Prime Minister and Federal Minister for Agriculture released strong statements to the effect that the IRA would no be compromised or fast tracked in any way to address the cyclone-induced shortage.
Imports Committee
The Imports Committee did not meet this year. The Committee is responsible for developing the industry’s import strategy and is anticipating a very active year in 2006/07.
Banana Imports Fighting Fund
The Banana Industry Fighting Fund (BIFF) has remained in place during 2005/06, having been reinstated on 1st March 2004 at a rate of 5 cents per 13kg carton (plus GST).
The Council believes fresh bananas from the Philippines pose an unacceptable risk to our domestic industry and the BIFF levy enables ABGC to develop the technical arguments to support its case.
I would like to thank all growers who continue to support the BIFF levy and provide us with the resources needed to keep our industry free of exotic pests and diseases.
PHA
Plant Health Australia (PHA) is a coordinating body that identifies and commissions projects and coordinates policy development at the national level that aims to protect Australia’s plant industries and related resources from the risks posed by organisms through the implementation of exclusion, eradication and control measures.
PHA manages agreed plant health programs on behalf of all its members to deliver a coordinated and effective national plant health framework for preventing and responding to exotic and other emergency pests.
PHA plays an important role in the classification of pests and diseases that are subject to consideration under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed. The Council is working with PA to facilitate the classification of the remaining banana pests and diseases covered under the Deed.
The Council retains membership of PHA on behalf of all Australian banana growers and Council representatives attend all PGA meetings.
HAC
As the national peak horticultural body, Horticulture Australia Council is responsible for ensuring that issues of concern to all horticultural industries can be considered. Where it is determined that a collective response to an issue is appropriate, HAC coordinates the development of a policy position and subsequent submissions as required.
The most significant issue on HAC’s policy agenda during the past year has been the proposed introduction of a mandatory code of conduct for the horticultural sector. Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson committed a re-elected coalition government to the implementation of a mandatory code within 100 days of taking office after the last federal election. HAC has been seeking to have that election commitment honoured in full.
HAL
Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL) is a national research, development and marketing organisation that works in partnership with the horticulture sector to invest in programs that provide benefit to Australian horticulture industries.
The Council is a member of HAL and participates in all HAL-sponsored industry forums. The Council had a number of research and communications projects co-funded by HAL including the biennial banana congress, Australian Bananas magazine and banana diagnostics related research.
Australian Bananas magazine
Australian Bananas magazine is a pre-eminent industry publication devoted to the collation and presentation of information of relevance to Australian growers in an easily accessible format.
The magazine distributes R&D project results to growers and industry information to commercial suppliers. It provides a broad overview of the state of the industry and advances in production practices.
The June 2006 edition of the magazine provided comprehensive coverage of the impact that Cyclone Larry had on the banana industry and what was being done to provide assistance to growers wishing to remain in the industry. It also provided extensive coverage of the proposed staggered cropping plan which was promoted as a way of minimising the impact of the mass crop synchronisation phenomenon.
The December 2005 issue covered the Sixth Australian Banana Industry Congress and provided a rundown on the latest banana industry research.
www.abgc.org.au
The Council’s website continues to increase in popularity and is the first port of call for most people wanting information about the Australian banana industry. This was particularly evident in March this year when the website was used to ABGC to provide constant media updates on the devastation caused by tropical Cyclone Larry.
The introduction of the Banana Crop Forecasting System which is being hosted on the ABGC website has added another dimension to the functionality of the site. Growers can now upload their banana bell injection figures to the website to create and access a prediction of future production quantities. This information will assist growers in making better crop management decisions as they seek to avoid placing fruit onto the market at times of forecast spikes in production.
Sixth Australian Banana Industry Congress
The banana industry congress provides an opportunity for all sectors of the industry to meet biennially and receive updates in important topics from a range of domestic and international guest speakers.
The sixth congress was held in August 2005 at the Cairns International Hotel. The congress provides a high profile platform for speakers to launch new ideas and industry initiatives whilst explaining their methodology. This congress was no exception with a range of quality international and local speakers challenging our perceptions and way of doing things in a range of areas.
The social calendar was, as usual, a highlight with many opportunities to mix business with pleasure in a relaxed environment. For most of us, congress is the only opportunity we have to meet with marketers, retailers, scientists, regulators, politicians, suppliers and others in one place.
The inaugural congress field day was hosted in Tully, a major growing region in north Queensland, which provided a chance for the local community to experience congress festivities.
Joint AABW/ABGC Meeting
In February the Council came together with representatives of the Association of Australian Banana Wholesalers (AABW) and other state banana representative bodies in Adelaide to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern.
These meetings provide an excellent opportunity for the growing and wholesale sectors to exchange information on issues likely to affect banana supplies and consumer demand in the year ahead.
Australian Banana Promotions Company
Australian Banana Promotions Company Limited (APBCL) has had a very busy year working in conjunction with ABGC and AABW to ensure that the right messages were conveyed to the general public with respect to banana shortages and high prices.
Board of Directors 2005/06
The Board met on the following occasions during the 2005/06 financial year: • 15h August 2005 Canegrowers Building, Innisfail • 16 December 2005 Centre for Wet Tropics, South Johnstone • 22 February 2006 Canvas & Kettle Conference Room, Murwillumbah • 23 May 2006 Caldwell Shire Council, Tully
Composition of the Board for 2005/06 was as follows: • Mr PM Leahy (President) • Mr M Singh ( Vice President) • Mr M Jackson • Mrs VA Kippin-O’Connor • Mr CR MacKay • Mr M Reppel • Mr PC Bale (retired) and replaced by Mr P Molenaar • Mr T Day
Staff
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of our staff for their dedication and hard work in what has been a very challenging year for the Council.
We are indeed fortunate to have such an experienced and effective team to assist the Board in the formulation and implementation of industry policy. Well done team.
Acknowledgements
On behalf of the Council, I thank the following organisation for their assistance; BananasNSW, Carnarvon Banana producers Committee, Growcom, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Department of Agriculture – Western Australia, Horticulture Australia Limited, Australian Association of Banana Wholesalers, Acclaim Special Events and Meeting Management, local producer associations, research agencies, wholesalers, retailers and associated service industries.
We also thank the Queensland and Australian governments, and Mark Warmington and Stewart Lindsay for their efforts during a difficult period.
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