IT HAS been a tumultuous couple of years for the WA potato industry, with many growers concerned about the industry’s future following deregulation and the closure of a major processing plant.
On September 6, State Parliament passed the Marketing of Potatoes Amendment and Repeal Bill 2016 which cemented the abolition of the Potato Marketing Corporation of WA (PMC), ending the 70-year-old regulated market in WA.
While the PMC will end at the start of next year, Friday, September 30, marks the end of potatoes being covered by the regulated market, putting growers under pressure to finish harvest by the deadline in order to receive the fixed agreed price for their fresh potatoes.
The change also means 13 PMC employees, along with its board members will be made redundant between September 30 and December 31.
A legal stoush between the PMC and “spud king” Tony Galati is on-going. The shift from a heavily regulated to a free market has left many in the industry uncertain about their business and its future.
To help ease the transition into an open market growers are being offered a $14 million assistance package which is being funded through the Royalties for Regions program.
Of this amount, $12m will be provided to growers through a grower adjustment package (GAP) and $2m as an industry adjustment package.
Potato Growers Association of WA (PGA) executive officer Simon Moltoni said some of the money from the industry adjustment package would be used by the PGA to continue industry marketing and research and development, two functions that were undertaken by the PMC, following the PGA’s annual general meeting on September 9.
This included the WA potato seed scheme which was overseen by the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) and research and development by Murdoch University and private partners.
The PMC and PGA are working on the transition of key functions, such as research and development and marketing, to be completed by the end of the year.
