Mr Littleproud said the decision to walk away was being affected by Labor’s anti-agriculture policies, including red tape impacting productivity and profitability, as the Horticulture compliance and regulation: reducing the burden by 2030 report is also released.
“Every Australian should be worried that 40 per cent of the industry is considering leaving within the next year, with a further 40 per cent saying they would also quit if they had a viable exit strategy,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Losing 80 per cent of our growers would be disastrous. When supply goes down, prices go up. So families will bear the burden of Labor destroying the agriculture industry at the supermarket checkout.”
Mr Littleproud added 62 per cent of those surveyed indicated they were financially worse off compared to 12 months ago, and 53 per cent expected to be worse off by July 2026.
“The cost of compliance for vegetable growers has gone up to $213 million per annum. This huge cost is also impacting our farmers emotionally, with nine in 10 reporting negative impacts of compliance audits on their stress levels and mental wellbeing,” he said.
“Growers should be focusing on their crops, not being forced to fill out forms. It is no wonder confidence across the industry has been smashed. It is worrying that Labor not only has no plan to fix it, but continues to increase the burden farmers face.
“Our farmers produce the nation’s food and fibre. They should be supported by Labor to get the workers they need and by Labor being tough on supermarkets, instead of being slapped with more red and green tape and compliance to make food production even harder.
“I am not sure that Australians would want to live in a country where we are importing vegetables and not growing our own, but if there is not change soon, this is the road we are heading down.”
