June 18, 2002

Grower education ­ particularly about the need, and better return, for quality --­ will be one of the earliest targets of the next five year, strategic plan being drawn up by the Australian mungbean industry.

The plan, debated at a meeting of mungbean growers, researchers, agronomists, traders and processors in Dalby, is likely to see the early publication of a marketing information brochure for growers.

The aim, according to Australian Mungbean Association chairman Brian Algate, is to improve producers¹ knowledge of the industry through a better understanding of agronomic, handling and marketing issues associated with mungbeans.

Mr Algate said more than 30 people, representing all industry¹s sectors, had attended the Dalby planning meeting, called to review the strategic plan that ends on June 30 and discuss important current and likely future issues.

"The workshop decided upon the issues that provide a skeleton for the new five year plan. That skeleton is being fleshed out over the next few weeks and the resulting draft will be taken back to the industry for comment," Mr Algate said.

"We had wanted to have the whole plan settled by the end of June but now believe we will need to call the full industry together again to review the draft plan itself and comments on it.

"Our first, five year plan, achieved considerable change in the mungbean industry and we want to be sure its replacement gets the balance right to achieve just as much. We anticipate it being compete around Christmas time."

Mr Algate said, besides the need for more grower education, other critical issues determined at the workshop were:

• development of mungbean cultivars with consistent performance, better disease resistance and quality and higher yield;
• to increase grower confidence in the marketing of their crops by providing more transparency of information about domestic and international price trends;
• to lift the quality of the Australian crop to achieve higher value marketing opportunities, and
  o to maintain a strong industry structure.

Mr Algate said the industry was looking to the five year Mungbean Improvement Project ­ begun in 1997 with the support of growers and the Federal Government through The Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC) ­ for more valuable new varieties like the recently developed White
Gold, which would be part of the future of the industry.

Representatives of the Australian Mungbean Association were involved in discussions about the possible transfer to Queensland¹s Department of Primary Industries of the GRDC supported improvement program carried out until now by CSIRO.

"While the new variety White Gold will provide the Australian industry access to the higher international prices available for premium sprouting grade mungbeans, there are a number of promising lines under development in the breeding program that need to be carried through to full release," Mr Algate said.