Banana imports to ease shortage

Stored under Caption This!GamesMiscellaneousNewsRecipesRelated EBay AuctionsReviewsVideosVisual Stimulation on June 23, 2006

AUSTRALIANS could be eating imported bananas within months under a proposal to make them available in selected fruit shops and supermarkets.

The plan, if adopted, will come too late to offer immediate relief to consumers, who have been paying up to $15/kg since Cyclone Larry wiped out most of the country's crop in northern Queensland in March. Local banana prices are expected to fall by the end of the year as plantations recover.

Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran rejected calls earlier this year to fast-track imports, which are being pushed by the Philippines Government. But the Government's quarantine assessment and policy advice body Biosecurity Australia will shortly ask for submissions on a draft plan to import bananas.

The plan will be considered by a panel of scientists and Biosecurity Australia quarantine director Joanna Hewitt, in a process that is likely to take six months to a year.

While retailers contacted yesterday declined to back the call for imports for fear of upsetting local growers, many are frustrated at the lack of alternative supplies to ease the shortage.

Read More.

Did you find this post useful? Then Digg It.