Wine exporter says Food Plan ignores red tape

Wine exporters say the Federal Government's National Food Plan does nothing to address the red tape encountered when exporting to countries like China.

Greg Corra, from Wamboin in south-east NSW, exports wine to 48 different countries, including China, Nigeria and Canada.

He says the government needs to focus its efforts on working out how to overcome export regulations before trying to increase market presence in Asia.

"In China, the market is more regulated than any other market in the world," he said.

"If you send a label that's slightly different to the one that you've sent them an image of, they will reject the product and it'll cost you a fortune.

"From a government to government base, there may be some chance of finding out why the regulations or why they're put into place."

Mushroom grower Ian Chu from Murrumbateman, on the Southern Tablelands of NSW, has looked at the possibility of exporting his produce to Asia in the past.

The high level of competition and the cost of freighting mushrooms meant it wasn't feasible.

He says he'd be willing to look at the possibilities again now that the National Food Plan is on the table.

"If there's any sort of focus group that can assist farmers like myself to do that, then that's most certainly a positive step," he said.

"But at the end of the day, the farm gate price, whether a farmer's selling to the local markets or to overseas, it's what goes into their pocket that's really going to make the difference as to whether they stay afloat or not."

Source: ABC News, 27 May 2013