AUSVEG has represented the vegetable and potato industries to government and in the media to raise industry’s concerns around COVID-related labour shortages and supply chain disruptions.

AUSVEG was invited to take part in a roundtable with Acting Small Business Minister Anne Ruston and Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson to provide industry’s insights about current challenges facing the industry and suggestions on how these can be addressed.

This follows the release of interim guidance provided by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) on Monday outlining a process to support safe decision-making when determining whether to place work permissions/restrictions on a worker after a COVID-19 exposure for workers in food and grocery supply.

The top 3 key issues AUSVEG raised at the roundtable included:

1. Growers are facing significant worker shortages due to COVID-related isolation requirements. AUSVEG highlighted the need for a nationally-consistent approach to COVID isolation requirements to ensure a steady supply of workers.
2. Rapid antigen testing needs to be prioritised to vegetable producers and their businesses to ensure they are able to act quickly if any of their workers test positive for COVID to minimise business disruptions.
3. Highlighted the urgent need to address labour concerns and supply chain disruptions considering the perishable nature of fresh produce and the significant impact of disruptions along the supply chain on the shelf life of fresh produce.

AUSVEG has also been active in national media on the issue, highlighting the impact of worker shortages on growers and highlighting that critical essential workers who work in agriculture should be able to continue to work if they test negative for COVID, are asymptomatic and are fully vaccinated.