Organic industry “baffled” by government inaction on domestic standard

Work began on mandatory domestic standards years ago, but progress has languished, and with it, millions in lost revenue for a booming industry.

Australia’s $2.6 billion organic industry is being stymied by federal government inaction over the introduction of mandatory domestic regulation of the booming sector.

Work on the regulatory framework for organics in Australia began in late 2021 – but 15 months later, a promised regulatory impact statement is still yet to be publicly released.

When asked by Nationals Senator Perin Davey in Senate Estimates last week for an update, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said domestic regulation was a “work in progress”.

Australian Organic chief executive Niki Ford been pushing for a mandatory domestic standard for organic products for years.

Niki Ford, chief executive of Australian Organic, said having a mandatory set of regulations would pave the way for “equivalence arrangements” between Australia and major trading partners including the US and EU, and she was “baffled” by the government’s lack of progress.

Without a domestic standard, organic producers wanting to export must also become certified in overseas markets, costing them thousands in the process.

“They can’t give us a timeline. The longer you leave these processes they become outdated, we want this resolved. We have cross-party support to get the legislation through. What’s the issue here?” she said.

Public consultation on domestic regulation of the organic industry was undertaken in February last year, while Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ regulatory impact statement was completed a month later.

The industry is still awaiting the federal government’s response to that public consultation and the regulatory impact statement.

Meanwhile an Organics Industry Advisory Group created by the former Liberal government has not been convened since at least May last year, when Labor took office.

Gemtree Wines owners Melissa and Mike Brown spend thousands certifying their wine in overseas markets, a cost they wouldn’t have to bear if Australia had its own mandatory regulations for organic products.

Organic wine producers Mike and Melissa Brown from South Australia’s McLaren Vale said they were out of pocket more than $12,000 annually due to a lack of a domestic standard.

“At the moment we have to go through multiple certification audits to be compliant to sell our product into Japan, South Korea, the US, the EU and China. In total, last year just with certification that cost us $12,000, (then) if we then bring in the labelling costs for every single market, it’s more,” Mr Brown said.

The Department of Agriculture’s deputy secretary Rosemary Dessinger told a parliamentary committee last week “the policy consideration is ongoing”.

“I don’t have a time frame and I’m not able to provide you all the committee at this point,” Ms Dessinger said.

A Department of Agriculture spokeswoman said between 2020 and 2022 the department undertook consultation to investigate regulatory and non-regulatory options.

“The government is considering the outcomes of this work and will continue to engage with industry as it considers next steps,” she said.

“No decision has been taken as to whether there should be a mandatory domestic standard for organics.”