Industry concerns

The messages we consistently hear from our industry about the domestic market include the following.

industry regulatory arrangements are complicated and not well understood
overwhelmingly, most producers are concerned that domestic regulation is insufficient
- overseas, many key markets protect “organic” under consumer laws
- Australian consumer law treats “organic” as a generic term
- more could be even be done by Govt/Industry to protect “certified organic”
there are generally low levels of satisfaction with certification processes
- this extends beyond normal mismatches of expectations of services and fees paid
- audits are viewed as an overly bureaucratic form ticking exercise — producers overwhelming care that the audit process promotes integrity in organic products
- some auditors are viewed as inexperienced and unqualified to conduct audits
- there is concern about fraudulent operators who flaunt obligations to comply with standards
- there is a need for a charter or service standard

there is clear recognition that the Government collects levies on a commodity basis which then is provided to commodity-focussed industry development organisations, and that the producer levies are then supplemented with matching Government contributions
most producers think that they do not receive value for money from these industry development organisations (but there are some exceptions)
there is generally a strong desire for organics to have its own industry development organisation

organics is haunted by historic disagreements, divergent mindsets and conflicting agendas
- there is a need for a clean break with this past
there is frustration about the value received for levies currently paid
- there is no desire for additional fees to fund better industry governance
- identifying viable ways to fund the necessary governance activities and services is critical

the transition costs to organic production are significant, and there is no premium in the price received during the long period of conversion
the premium received for organic products after conversion is often not sufficient to compensate for the higher production costs and the conversion period
consequently, organic production is often adopted for philosophical or lifestyle reasons, rather than for commercial reasons
there is a role for Governments in addressing this significant barrier to entry