New carrot venture for Northern Tasmania

Western Australian vegetable company, Sumitch, has been given the go ahead to build a $5 million carrot washing and packing facility near Devonport in Northern Tasmania.

Owner and operator Nick Tana plans to increase Tasmanian carrot crop eight-fold this season, from 10 to 80 hectares, and expects to expand again next year.

"The important thing is that us coming to Tasmania is not a threat to anyone that is already there. We are going to Tasmania for one specific purpose.

We are going to basically relieve the pressure on our existing operations here in the West during a period of very very intense heat and very harsh conditions in terms of growing."

Nick Tana says the fresh vegetable market will remain strong and is significantly different from the processed sector.

"They are very different beasts. The fresh industry in Australia will stay for a long, long time. It has not got the same threats the processing industry has.

However if we are to be a formidable force in terms of both processing and the fresh vegetable market, the Federal government, the State government and the Unions need to address the issue of labour and labour rates.

We cannot afford penalty rates the way they are."

Source: ABC Rural News, 21 June 2013