THE volume of cheap imported produce flowing onto the Australian market continues to rise with processed fruit and vegetables contributing the majority of food imports between 2010 and 2012, comprising a figure of around 15 per cent.
The statistics, contained in a new report, Australian food statistics 2011-12, produced by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), have been labelled "shocking and grim" by Ausveg spokesperson Hugh Gurney.
He said it had been a tumultuous year for the Australian food processing industry, with several large processors falling victim to the mounting pressure of foreign food imports.
Prominent processor Rosella has now permanently ceased operations after falling into receivership late last year, and more recently, Windsor Farm Produce was placed into voluntary administration.
“Our sector is facing a crisis. Like dominoes, Australian food processors are toppling over in their tracks. Government action is critical if we want to continue to feed our own country into the very near future,” Mr Gurney said.
According to the report, New Zealand continues its reign as the biggest source of the nation’s food imports.
“This revelation is especially frightening, given the fact that New Zealand imports Chinese produce, processes it in New Zealand and exports it to countries like Australia under the guise of 'Made in New Zealand with local and imported ingredients’,” Mr Gurney said.
“The safety and quality of vegetables produced in China cannot be guaranteed because they are not grown to the strict standards required here in Australia.
"It has been reported that Chinese farmers have sprayed produce with formaldehyde – a toxic chemical used to preserve human flesh – to preserve it during periods of unrefrigerated transport.”
Mr Gurney said overhauling Country of Origin Labelling legislation would help all Australians to better distinguish Australian produce from its foreign counterparts.
Source:-www.theland.com.au
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