AUSVEG goes Organic!
The Australian Organic Industry was very professionally represented at last weeks AUSVEG conference in Cairns taking out BEST SMALL STAND AWARD. The stand comprised of Organic Crop Protectants Pty Ltd (OCP), Australian Organic (AO) and Organic Farm Gate (OFG). The format provided veggies growers interested in converting to organics with all the information they needed to go away confident that they could convert all or part of their production system to organics and make good money – to be price makers rather than price takers.It was a very successful event for AO, OCP and OFG with many large growers now looking to convert part of their operations to organic production. The huge increase in demand for organic fruit and veggies is forcing many organic processors to import organic produce from overseas to fill orders. This is a ridiculous situation that can only be solved by local growers converting to organics to fill the ever widening gap between demand and supply. The demand for organic baby food in China is exploding and local producers cannot keep up supply. The new free trade agreements into Asian markets like Japan and South Korea and the recent AO agreement with Chinese Authorities that recognises AO certification allowing Australian Organic produce access into Chinese Supermarkets will see a big future for organic food export to these countries.