Australia: Victoria wants to give vegetable growers an export edge
Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development Jaala Pulford announced $25,000 from the revamped Food Source Victoria (FSV) program to support a network of growers who sell their produce under Flavorite Marketing.
Flavorite is a well-known Victorian business that works with six greenhouse producers across the state to market tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers and eggplants.
Its produce is well known across Australia, but only 8 per cent is exported. The FSV-backed project will help the company specifically assess the potential in Japan and China.
Earlier this year, Flavorite took advantage of the Labor Government’s $10 million Latrobe Valley Economic Facilitation Fund – which is growing existing and future industries, creating jobs and attracting new investment.
The company will build a 4.3 hectare glasshouse, fitted with heating, irrigation and infrastructure to produce high-quality hydroponic tomatoes and other vegetables. The glasshouse will use new environment control systems to increase production yields by 10 to 15 per cent.
An export strategy will consider issues such as the size of the potential markets for the produce, competitors, and consumer drivers, as well as packaging and certification requirements.
The FSV program has recently been modified to make it easier for Victorian agri-food businesses along the entire supply chain to apply and connect with regional producers. The application process has been simplified and streamlined, and support is now available to help applicants find partners and develop their ideas.
Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development Jaala Pulford: “We’ve revamped the Food Source Victoria program to make it easier for agricultural producers in regional Victoria to find the right partners and funding to take their products to the next level.”
Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing: “With more than 320 employees, Flavorite is a major local employer in Gippsland and this new grant will go a long way to getting more quality produce on supermarket shelves throughout Asia.”
Flavorite National Business Manager Samuel Kisvarda: “The goal is for us to have capsicums, tomatoes and other glasshouse-grown product into Japan and China within two years – this goes a long way to achieving that.”
For more information:
vic.gov.au/foodsource