Australian Olive Industry Survey: R & D and Olive Levy ~ Part 18

About The Olive Levy

The olives levy was introduced 1 May 2013. Olives that are produced in Australia and sold by a producer or used by the producer in the production of other goods will attract a levy.

Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited and Plant Health Australia are responsible for the expenditure of the olive levy.

Olives levy rates

Olives means any fruit from the genus and species Olea europaea.

Retail sale means the sale of olives by a producer other than a sale to a first purchaser, processor or exporter, or through a selling agent, buying agent or exporting agent.

A process relating to olives does not include cleaning, sorting, grading and packing.

The olive levy rate comprises Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR), Plant Health Australia (PHA) and research and development (R&D), and shown in the table below: 

Levy componentLevy rate 
EPPR$0.00 per tonne
PHA$0.10 per tonne
R&D $3.00 per tonne
TOTAL$3.10 per tonne

The olives levy rate is calculated per tonne. GST is not applied to Australian Government levies and charges.

R & D Olive Levy

62% of respondents pay the Olive Levy.

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R & D Levy Contributions

Respondents who pay the industry R & D Levy showed over 48.3% pay up to $499 per annum.

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R & D Levies 

Respondents were asked how satisfied they are with the use of the levies paid?  The average answer was 5.6 out of 10.

Respondents were asked how useful was the information/outcomes about R&D to their business operation?  The average answer was 4.3 out of 10.

R & D Research Results

29.3% of respondents have never read any R & D research.  24.8% haven’t read research from 3+ years ago.

Only 28.6% had read recent research.

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R & D Research Objectives

Top 3 Respondent Choices:  Pest & Disease,  Market & Product Development and Help growers lower costs and increase yields.

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R & D Research – Current

Over 84% of respondents are not aware of any current research being conducted.

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R & D Objectives and how respondents marked them on importance out of 100%

Average respondents answer was 27%

Average respondents answer was 29%

Average respondents answer was under 23%.

Respondents average answer was 20%.

Average respondents answer is 27%

Average respondents answer is 32.3%

Average respondents answer is 38 out of 100.

Average respondents answer is 67%.

Average respondents answer is 59%.

Average respondents answer is 37%.

Respondents also gave responses to other areas they would like to see funded by the Olive Industry’s R & D Levy

  • 500 towards sustainable industry practices, eg keeping costs and prices at a level that will sustain Producers; more emphasis on environmentally responsible (eg, organic) farming practices.
  • Market promotion for Australian olives
  • assistant (eg tax relief for new/ young growers
  • Professional education and training $150
  • Marketing & Promotion – online & export $100
  • Plant nutrition
  • To provide a service that would make the relationship between water, climate change and olives a must read for
  • producers. To provide information on how small growers can avoid serious alternate bearing when we run out of
  • water and the summers are reaching 40 degree plus.
  • Research medicinal benefits as this is a huge opportunity to capitalize and profit for growers.
  • Advertising on TV Australian Olive Oil
  • marketing
  • Marketing
  • Marketing advertising our product
  • Production, market and consumption data collection, collation and publication
  • $1000 is not enough
  • Everything seems to be covered in a general sort of way.
  • Young farming initiatives
  • staff training

R & D – Feedback about 10 objectives

  • Not interested in seeing scarce resources directed to the career-path of non-producers.
  • Not that important to me
  • useless
  • partly impressed
  • Good coverage
  • Most of the objectives are part and parcel of a growers manifest to be the best at what they do as it is. It is the government policy areas that need serious lobbying. Most likely too late as most Trade deals are already signed and ratified.
  • Good
  • Very few are being achieved by the Australian Olive Association
  • Other significant objectives have been ignored by the Australian Olive Association
  • “Mass Balancing” the needs of the Australian Oil Tree in all regions.
  • Realistic
  • They are focused on administrative/political issues. We need more research on growing olives under our conditions (nutrition, irrigation, pest management)
  • Not much
  • Really I’m not into it at all these days. If I had better health I would be.
  • Most seem to revolve around funding the core activities of the AOA, which I was told at at an R&D levy proposal meeting at the Arkaba Hotel by Peter McFarlane that this would not happen. The prospective levy payers were advised that R&D funding would be determined by an expert independent committee and that levy money allocated to marketing was not in the equation as it would not be funded by the Govt on a matching $ basis.
  • Some are very repetitive and rather than focus on a specific outcome, I fear they will just end up spending money on developing ideas and laying out possible projects.
  • We don’t consider the following R&D objectives:  Government Engagement and Lobbying, Promote and grow the Industry Code of Practice, Build a united olive industry at regional/state/national level?, Ensure Industry associations are well resourced and Differentiating Australian Olive Products
  • Doesn’t make any sense at all.
  • Don’t waste time with Government lobbying
  • Only interest is in biosecurity and for starling infestations that is already too late.
  • needs more explaining to smaller growers
  • a good range
  • Very Good, shows we need to get to basics again.
  • Appropriate
  • Do not
  • nonsense
  • OK.. everyone has different priorities
  • Introspective and jingoistic
  • all are valid and should be pursued
  • Some seem a bit useless but can’t really judge without more knowledge.
  • I thought some of them seemed to overlap quite a bit. They seem quite general but I suppose they are only objectives.
  • They will suffice for the moment. Monitoring and measuring their success is critical. I have little faith that this will be rigorously done, unfortunately.
  • How are some of those R & D? Ensure Industry associations are well resourced and Build a united olive industry at regional/state/national level. The other objectives could provide a lot of value. Does bottling reduce the quality of olive oil as a post handling process? Does oxidation occur? What does olive oil as a cooking medium offer for food? Olive Lace Bug is the big pest nowadays and needs research. Research into differentiating products. Terroir of oils etc. Are table olives worthwhile? Should I step into table olives rather than olive oil?
  • All good, but out of the recent AOA conference the most important matter, more than all others put together, it the future of disease in our trees. The enlightenment on the heel of Italy with its XF I refer to. If that gets here then most other matters from grove to marketing become irrelevant.
  • we still need to focus on the grass roots

Olive Levies

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