The federal coalition has made an election promise to investigate how Tasmania could boost its role as a supplier of fruit and vegetables, and on Wednesday released plans to achieve annual sales of $750 million by 2020.
A report by the Tasmanian Fruit and Vegetable Industry Taskforce, commissioned by the federal government, said the sector must adopt a sales-driven plan, identifying domestic and overseas markets to be targeted by marketing strategies.
“Tasmanian growers and suppliers, to compete with international suppliers, will need to exploit particular niches where they have a unique comparative advantage,” the report said.
It listed Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam as examples of markets that are free from quarantine barriers and open to Australian imports.