A group of farmers in southern Queensland are trying to revive a once-familiar fruit market after a two-week ban by the state government.
Key points:The farmers plan to grow desert-fruits for export through the market in an attempt to counter a drought in the regionThe GST will also be used to buy produce from the farmers market and sell it in a new marketA government-owned land bank is providing $200,000 to cover costs for the farmers, including a loan for the farm’s operations.
“It’s a very good idea,” Mr Green Produce Manager Darren Maclean said.
“If we don’t have it we won’t be able to grow it, and it’s a really good idea for us.”
The Queensland government has said it has not decided whether to allow farmers to produce their own produce on their land, and will not allow them to export.
The government said last week that the new tax on imported produce would be used for the new market, and the state’s land bank will provide $200 of the cost.
“The GST is a tax that will be used by the State Government to purchase produce from farmers,” a spokeswoman said.
The market is expected to begin operating this weekend and produce a few hundred to a few thousand produce products.
“We’ve got some very large tomatoes in the shop and some small ones,” Mr Maclean laughed.
“But that’s all the produce we’ve got.
The farmers can come in and pick their produce.”
The farm has also agreed to buy the produce from a land bank, which will provide the funds for the operation.
“I’m really happy for the farmer, it’s been a very tough couple of weeks for him,” Mr McLean said.
He said the fruit producers were looking to “create some freshness” by growing fruit locally.
“There’s some of it, we’re getting some fruits, and some of them will be exported to Europe,” Mr MacDonald said.
Topics:pesticides-and-fungicides,grain,grape,gardening,gardener-feedstock,fruit-market,producers,beaver-7172,lobster-7170,fruit,hawthorn-7160,cree-2880,nsw,arriba-0870,sa,qldFirst posted October 02, 2020 11:53:33More stories from New South Wales
