AUSVEG, Media Release, 16 September 2025
New research released today by AUSVEG has for the first time quantified the cost and scope of the $213 million annual compliance, regulatory and red tape burden hampering the productivity and profitability of Australian vegetable growers, and threating the long-term viability of Australia’s vegetable industry.
The launch of the Horticulture compliance and regulation: reducing the burden by 2030 report, comes as the 2025 AUSVEG Industry Sentiment Report – also released today – reveals a continuing decline in grower confidence which must be urgently addressed to keep farmers farming vegetables, and ensure Australia’s future food security.
The sentiment report shows two in five vegetable growers are actively considering leaving the industry within the next year due to challenging business conditions, while a further two in five would follow suit if they had a viable exit strategy.
With the growing burden and cost of compliance regularly identified among the top productivity and profitability drains for Australian vegetable growers, AUSVEG earlier this year commissioned Corporate Value Associates (CVA) Australia to produce the Horticulture compliance and regulation report.
This work includes a thorough examination of the current compliance and regulatory landscape in the vegetable industry, the impact on Australian vegetable growers, and 34 recommendations to address these increasingly urgent issues.
AUSVEG is now working as a priority to establish an industry taskforce to implement the report’s recommendations as an important step to addressing the compliance overload that is threatening the viability of vegetable growers across the country.
Further analysis and information about these two new reports will be released through AUSVEG communications channels in the days ahead.
