ABARE is due to begin a survey of Western Australian vegetable growers as part of a broader project that will benchmark Australian costs of growing vegetables against international competitors.

‘This is an opportunity for local growers to ensure that industry, governments and other stakeholders have accurate and up-to-date information on the vegetable growing industry, and the challenges they currently face,’ explains Karen Schneider, acting Executive Director, ABARE.

The ABARE survey, which is supported by industry bodies including vegetablesWA, Horticulture Australia Limited and AUSVEG, will include questions on farm production, costs and returns, capital investment, irrigation, farm labor and farm chemical use.

Ms Schneider assures survey participants that ABARE will guarantee the confidentiality of their responses. The information collected will not be published or released in any form that could identify individuals or their business.
While participation in the survey is entirely voluntary, vegetablesWA supports the study and strongly encourages growers to participate if contacted.

The results will provide very useful information for vegetablesWA and other industry stakeholders at a difficult time for the industry. This will allow vegetablesWA and others to continue to develop policies and initiatives to take the industry forward, commented Jim Turley, Executive Officer, vegetablesWA.