On 14 May 2021, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) released an Industry Advisory Notice for public consultation relating to its intention to increase the fees and charges for horticultural exporters, as a stepped return to full cost recovery by 2023-24 for its regulatory activities.
The expected commencement date of the new export fees and charges is 1 July 2021 and AUSVEG strongly encourages you to review the below information to determine the financial impact to your business, and to consider making a formal direct submission to DAWE on this matter.
The Cost Recovery Implementation Statement: Horticulture Exports 2021- 22 (CRIS) proposes the following key changes to export fees and charges:
Based on the CRIS document, DAWE is seeking to implement a 52% increase in overall export charges in the first year of 2021-22, followed by a stepped average increase in cost by 17% in 2022-23, 9% in 2023-24 and 2% in 2024-25.
Some cost items are proposed to increase approximately 100% over the next four years – click here to see the summary of the full proposed changes to all charges from 2021-22 to 2024-25.
The cost increases in the first year will negatively impact exporters of vegetables and risk competitiveness in export markets, especially under the current difficult trading climate and COVID-19 disruptions.
Exporting growers are encouraged to make a submission to the Department of Agriculture outlining the impact that increased export charges will have on their business through Have Your Say on the DAWE website by Thursday 10 June 2021.
There are two ways for you to express your thoughts and concerns for how these increases will impact your business:
- Provide individual feedback through a submission via the Department of Agriculture’s Have Your Say feedback portal, or
- Contact AUSVEG, via email or phone, to communicate your views for inclusion in the vegetable industry submission to government.
For more information:
AUSVEG Export Department
Tel.: +61 (03) 9882 0277
Email: export@ausveg.com.au