Potatoes Australia: calling for more timely support on PMTV
Potatoes Australia has repeatedly called for the urgent activation of the biosecurity response component (formerly the Emergency Plant Pest Response Levy) to support growers impacted by Potato Mop-Top Virus (PMTV) and to protect Australia from further spread of this serious disease.
Almost five months after the initial detection in July, growers still have no activated levy, no reimbursement.
While AUSVEG and Plant Health Australia are working on the compensation arrangements, the information released so far has raised more questions for growers than answers.
Potatoes Australia will continue pushing for a seat at the decision making table to ensure the entire potato industry is represented and provided with clarity and timely support.
This delay is unacceptable and highlights serious deficiencies in how the system has operated compared with industry expectations.
Action is now well overdue.
The purpose of the levy is to ensure rapid, decisive support during a biosecurity emergency—not prolonged uncertainty. The ongoing failure to activate the levy undermines grower confidence and leaves affected producers exposed to significant financial and operational risk.
Potatoes Australia will continue advocating firmly and constructively to ensure the industry receives the support it is entitled to under the EPPRD. However, without immediate action, the fundamental basis of the levy becomes highly questionable, and a comprehensive review of the levy mechanisms and their activation processes will be necessary to ensure such levy system matches industry needs.
Potatoes Australia strongly support a science-based, nationally coordinated response to Potato Mop-Top Virus (PMTV). We support the initiative to develop of a national working party of to discuss and clarify industry tipping points and official control packages, future outbreak response. Including the development of clear, evidence-based recommendations for the Sub-Committee on Market Access, Risk and Trade (SMART).
Potatoes Australia remains committed to working constructively to achieve the best outcomes for industry:
- protecting area freedom where the disease in known not to occur,
- advocating for the entire industry supply chain,
- preventing further spread of PMTV, and
- ensuring practical management where the virus has been detected.
Potatoes Australia is calling for Immediate effective action including:
- Clear cost-sharing and compensation decisions, so all growers that have affected seed do not plant it and can recover costs without further uncertainty.
- Transparent reporting on how industry levy funds have been held, what is available, and how they will be deployed for PMTV.
Under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed (EPPRD), a biosecurity response levy of 10 cents per tonne has been collected from the potato industry to repay the costs associated with the Tomato Potato Psyllid (TPP) incursion in Western Australia. Those costs have now been fully repaid.
Despite this, levy collection continued well beyond the repayment period. It is now estimated that more than $400,000 in surplus revenue remains in the EPPRD account—funds collected from industry for the explicit purpose of responding to emergency plant pest incursions.
Given the detection of Potato Mop-Top Virus (PMTV) on the mainland and the significant impacts on affected growers, this surplus should now be immediately deployed to support a coordinated national response, consistent with the intent of the levy and the principles of the EPPRD. The continued retention of these funds without activation undermines confidence in the levy system and leaves industry without the support it has paid for.
The potato industry has a reasonable expectation that EPPRD levy revenue—particularly accumulated surplus—be used for the purpose for which it was collected: emergency pest response, cost-sharing, and supporting growers impacted by incursions such as PMTV.
Potato Australia will continue advocating strongly for the coordinated national response for the entire Australian potato industry.