Cherry, citrus, table grape and fresh vegetable grower associations are among the recipients of an $8.4 million grant allocated to support food production and distribution
The first tranche of the Victorian government’s Food to Market program has been announced, with $8.4 million in grants being allocated to 13 industry and regional bodies to support agricultural producers across the state get their food to market sooner.
Trade body Global Victoria has contributed an additional $2.8 million to provide export recovery support to industries impacted by disruptions as a result of the pandemic.
The peak body for Victorian fresh vegetable exporters, AusVeg, has received $960,000 to commence a pilot in partnership with the Victorian government to investigate and trial alternative packaging and transport options.
Cherry Growers Australia has received $750,000 to support the development of a ‘Chemical Use for Export Toolkit’. The toolkit will help industry provide evidence-based, practical advice to Victorian businesses planning to export their produce so they can meet the expectations of international markets.
Citrus Australia and the Australian Table Grape Association received $1.4 million to lead two traceability pilots for premium fruit – in order to grow, diversify and protect high-value exports.
The pilots include using isotope testing, cool-chain tracking and orchard mapping to enhance traceability. This will aim to safeguard the industry from fraudulent products and ensure that the integrity of Victorian premium fruit brands and varieties is protected.
The table grape traceability pilot – which commenced in June 2021 – will run for the duration of the 2021/22 table grape harvest season, and aims to build, diversify and protect exports by developing producer-to-consumer traceability.
Australia’s table grapes are the nation’s largest fresh horticulture export, valued at $800 million in total, with $623 million export product. Ninety per cent of Australia’s table grape exports are generated by Victorian producers and exporters, for a value of $562 million across 152,000 tonnes of table grape exports.
Fruit Master, a large Australian producer and exporter, will apply traceability technology and cool chain tracking to premium fruit brands and varieties across table grape exports this upcoming season.
Technology provider Result Group will apply unique serialised GS1 Digital Link-enabled QR code labels to export table grapes, allowing the automated collection of data from farm and supply chain, which can be shared with consumers to authenticate the food’s precise origin and engage with the brand through an open platform smartphone scan.
The Active Digital Identity embedded in the QR code labels ensures each one is unique and traceable, which can help reduce food fraud. Labels will also carry critical international traceability data, based on GS1 current standards, covering consumer pack units, cases and pallet codes, as well as time and temperature logging, which will be captured through the Evrythng Product Cloud database.
“The Food to Market program is an excellent example of how we are providing timely support to agribusinesses impacted by the pandemic, while capitalising on opportunities to expand into new markets over the longer term,” says Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas.