Australian Custard Apple Growers vote to amend the statutory levy arrangements.
Custard Apples Australia has lodged a proposal with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to amend the split of Custard Apple statutory levies between Research/Development (R&D) and Marketing.
In recent years, growers have been expressing concerns over the adequacy of the R&D Fund to meet a myriad of priority needs and the effectiveness of the Marketing Fund given industry scale and structure. In response to these concerns raised by growers, the industry representative body, Custard Apples Australia (CAA) has run an industry-wide consultation on the proposal below.
The Proposal
The proposal being considered is:
1. NOT to increase the overall rate of the custard apple levy, which will remain at 40 cents per tray or carton and $50 per tonne for bulk wholesale sales.
2. Reduce the Custard Apple Marketing component to zero for the present time.
3. Increase the R&D levy and charge component to 40 cents per tray or carton ($50 per tonne)
4. To focus the R&D investment on key areas for the industry’s future growth and profitability, identified via on-going industry consultation.
CAA has conducted an extensive consultation program on this proposal (February 2023 to March 2024) targeting both its members and where possible, the wider industry. This consultation has included field days and shed meetings, newsletters, public notices in the rural press, direct email to CAA members and contact with all custard apple levy collection points requesting the proposal be circulated to their suppliers.
A formal confidential vote was conducted during February 2024 supervised by an independent returning officer and auditor. Support for the proposal was very strong with 95.8% of those voters supporting the proposal. When weighted by production levels, the proposal was supported by 96.4% of the production participating in the vote. The eligible levy payers participating in the formal vote were estimated to represent 45% of the industry’ total production in 2022/23.
Any eligible growers/levy payers wishing to lodge an objection to this proposal can do so via the contact options below:
Custard Apples Australia by clicking here
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by clicking here
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by clicking here
The objection period extends from 2nd May to 13th June 2024 and all objections will be acknowledged and forwarded to the Minister prior to any decision being made on the proposal.
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