Nathan Hancock, CEO, Citrus Australia, said:
“Our reputation is everything; as important as the sweet, juicy fruit that has enabled our growers to expand their export markets.
Citrus Australia’s decision to engage with Agriculture Victoria in this traceability pilot program for horticulture supply chains was borne out of necessity. The scope and audacity of IP theft costs individual citrus businesses and the wider citrus industry millions of dollars every year.”
“Our traceability practices are crucial to building confidence in our horticulture sector, creating a shared understanding about how our food is produced.
Our citrus industry continues to shine, with exports growing steadily year on year – I commend the Victorian citrus industry for taking this proactive step that will provide benefits for them and our trading partners.”
The Hon. Jaclyn Symes, Minister Agriculture Victoria
The pilot was funded by The Victorian government, as part of the $8 million Growing Food and Fibre Markets (GFFM) program.
The program is aimed at helping producers, industry and the whole supply chain to:
- better capture export market opportunities
- strengthen biosecurity and food safety capability, focusing on product assurance and integrity systems
- expand Victoria’s global agrifood trade footprint
- build upon our reputation as an exporter of premium quality food and fibre products.