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Banana growers are bent on a fight
27 Feb 2004
The Australian Banana Growers' Council will ask growers to voluntarily contribute five cents from every 13kg carton of bananas sold for about $10. The levy will fund a $100,000 scientific study into the disease risks of imports of Philippine bananas. The council insists the levy will not be passed on to consumers.
Eddie Hatchman, a grower with a 130ha banana plantation in Mareeba, said Biosecurity Australia's decision to allow Philippine bananas into Australia will devastate the whole banana industry. He said up to 5,000 workers could lose their jobs in North Queensland, either through the importation of disease or because competition will lead to oversupply.
The Australian, 27/2/04, page 2.
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