vegetables

46
Industry in the media
AUSVEG reached a national
audience of 5,211,001
throughout the month of
January, with a total of 487
media reports mentioning
AUSVEG across print, broadcast
and television outlets.
In February, AUSVEG media
mentions increased to 895
reports with an estimated
audience of almost six million.
AUSVEG National Manager
– Scientific Affairs Dr Jessica
Lye featured extensively across
live and pre-recorded television
and radio, as well as print
media outlets, following the
voluntary recall of some prepackaged
lettuce products from
Victoria. AUSVEG represented
the industry on this issue in
approximately 600 media
reports, reaching an audience
of more than 4.5 million.
Dr Lye outlined that this was
an isolated incident involving
one supplier and reiterated
that the main priority for the
vegetable industry is consumer
safety. She added that
consumers can have confidence
that fresh and pre-packaged
vegetable products available for
purchase throughout Australia
are safe to eat.
Labour hire
AUSVEG CEO Richard Mulcahy
featured across prominent print
media and broadcast channels
highlighting the concerns
around the drop in seasonal
workers visiting Australia
over the past two years. This
included a television interview
broadcast on CCTV, one of
China’s biggest English news
networks.
Mr Mulcahy stressed how
important this labour supply is
to growers, and stated that the
proposed 32.5 per cent tax on
backpackers from July 2016
could become a deterrent in
attracting seasonal workers to
Australia.
AUSVEG Deputy CEO Andrew
White and AUSVEG National
Manager – Export Development
Michael Coote also appeared
in print and on broadcast
media reiterating that the
proposed change to the way
backpackers are taxed could
have a significant impact on one
of Australian horticulture’s vital
labour sources.
Anti-dumping duties
After the Federal Government
announced that anti-dumping
duties will be imposed on
imported canned tomatoes
from Italy, AUSVEG Deputy
CEO Andrew White appeared
on national television and
broadcast media welcoming the
decision.
Mr White explained that
the anti-dumping duties will
ensure Australian producers
can compete on a level playing
field with their international
counterparts, and hoped that
this decision will have flow-on
effects to ensure a fair market
for all growers.
Export success
AUSVEG has been working
hard to help vegetable growers
expand their businesses and
target lucrative export markets
overseas. AUSVEG National
Manager – Export Development
Michael Coote recently
appeared on broadcast and in
print media, welcoming Papua
New Guinea’s decision to lift the
ban on the import of selected
Australian fruit and vegetables
for three months. Mr Coote
said that the loss of any export
market increased pressure on
Australian vegetable growers
and he hoped that the ban
will be reversed permanently
following the three-month
period.
Mr Coote also featured in the
media congratulating the export
success of a Victorian grower,
who secured a business deal
in Dubai after an industry-led
trade mission to the United
Arab Emirates.
Insightful vegetable
research
AUSVEG National Manager
– Scientific Affairs Dr Jessica
Lye appeared on broadcast
media discussing research
from Harvard University, which
revealed that eating vegetables
high in fibre at a young age is
associated with a decreased risk
of developing breast cancer.
AUSVEG Manager –
Communications Shaun Lindhe
also appeared on broadcast
media discussing the results
from consumer research study,
Project Harvest, which showed
that consumers aren’t able
to identify individual varieties
of some of their favourite
vegetables. Mr Lindhe also
featured on broadcast media
highlighting that Australians
are falling short of the
recommended daily intake of
vegetables despite the belief
that they are meeting their
quota.
i
Communication of R&D
projects in the Australian
vegetable industry have
been funded by Horticulture
Innovation Australia using
the National Vegetable
Levy and funds from the
Australian Government.
Project Number: VG15027