Queensland, Australia
May 27, 2011
Peak horticulture organisation Growcom today described an announcement by Golden Circle that they would close their beetroot operation in Australia in favour of New Zealand as a devastating blow for beetroot growers in the Lockyer and Fassifern Valleys, particularly after the floods earlier this year.
Chief Executive Officer Alex Livingstone said that some of the growers had a long association with the company going back 50 years and it was devastating news for them.
“There are immediate farm management and investment decisions that they will have to make in the days ahead.
“Clearly, this is a business decision which Golden Circle has had to make, the same as a grower would on their farm, but it will be sad to see the end of beetroot production in Queensland: an iconic product and an industry worth around $10 million a year. The bulk of tinned beetroot will come from overseas in future,” said Mr Livingstone.
Mr Livingstone said that while the company had assured the growers that it would support them this season and would offer financial and other assistance for transition to other crops or supply arrangements no details of this support had been yet offered to the growers.
“Golden Circle has treated growers with integrity in the past and one can only hope this will continue to be the case.
“The company has given assurances it will process the beetroot crop that is already planted in the ground – between now and November. However, there are no other practicable processing options after this year for Queensland growers.”
Mr Livingstone said that a number of growers had already been diversifing their operations into other crops over a number of years but there were some who were still producing virtually 100 per cent beetroot.
He said that these growers would need to diversify into other crops but decisions would need to be made carefully to ensure there was no oversupply of any one commodity leading to a drop in prices.
In addition, options would depend on having a range of reliable water supplies (underground, surface, on farm storage) available to the farm.
“Growers dependent on a groundwater supply in the Lockyer have the least options for diversifying. It is for this reason that for years Growcom has urged the government to consider alternatives such as water recycling for horticulture production in the Lockyer.”
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