Seed potatos: New trade deal opens doors to Indonesia for farmers

A TRADE deal almost a decade in the making has secured new market access to Indonesia for Victorian and South Australian seed potato farmers.

Good fit: Dr Nigel Crump

A TRADE deal almost a decade in the making has secured new market access to Indonesia for Victorian and South Australian seed potato farmers.

A breakthrough in negotiations on Monday opened the doors for about 300 seed potato farmers in the two southern states to sell into the emerging Indonesia market as part of a deal worth $110 million a year for about 85,000 tonnes of Australian seed potatoes.

Nigel Crump, general manager of seed potato industry organisation ViCSPAR, said the deal was effective immediately, but it could take some time before growers were able to multiply production to supply the new export market.

“A few exporters have been crying out for this opportunity,” Dr Crump said. “We already export to Thailand and Vietnam, and these guys (growers) see the Indonesian market as a good fit for our product.”

The export protocol, signed at a bilateral meeting in Melbourne this week, follows several visits from Indonesian delegations to Australia over the past nine years.

“This is a big win for our certification system, without that traceability we wouldn’t be able to pursue these markets,” Dr Crump said. “Due to our high health record, we can meet the specifications easily, and it’s a much shorter distance for the Indonesians than importing from Scotland or Canada.”

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the export protocol would take an industry with a current production value of $520.3 million “to new heights” and builds on current seed potato access for Western Australia.

James Whiteside, chief executive of AusVeg, the peak body for the Australian vegetable and potato industries, said the deal would give Victorian and South Australian seed potato farmers more choice about where to send their product, “and would allow them to take advantage of the potentially lucrative Indonesian market”.

Indonesian consumers’ appetite for fresh fruit and vegetables is growing and currently the country relies on exported produce to top up inadequate domestic supply.

According to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission Australia is the fourth biggest export source for fruit and vegetables to the SouthEast Asian nation.