EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1987 No. 136
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary Industry
DRIED VINE FRUITS EQUALIZATION LEVY ACT 1978
DRIED VINE FRUITS EQUALIZATION LEVY
REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Sub-section 9(1) of the Dried Vine Fruits Equalization Levy Act 1978 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations not inconsistent with that Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Sub-section 9(3) provides that the Governor-General shall take into consideration any relevant recommendations made by the Australian Dried Fruits Corporation pursuant to sub-section 9(2) with respect to regulations to be made to fix a rate of levy for dried fruit of a specified kind produced during that season.
For the purposes of equalizing export and domestic returns, section 5 of the Act imposes a levy on dried fruit produced in Australia. The levy is applied to specified kinds of dried fruit to be used for human consumption in Australia and the proceeds are later disbursed to producers in the form of an equalization payment over the total amount of fruit of that kind produced in the season.
Sub-section 6(1) of the Act provides that regulations may, at any time during a season, fix a rate of levy in respect of dried fruit of a specified kind produced during that season. Sub-section 6(2) of the Act provides that the rate of equalization levy set by regulations for a specified kind of dried fruit produced in a season shall be a rate agreed to by the Minister after consultation with, and consideration of estimates provided by, the Australian Dried Fruits Corporation. These estimates relate to the average export return, the volumes of fruit produced and the proportions of specified fruit likely to be exported and likely to be used for human consumption in Australia.
The dried vine fruits equalization scheme provides for the equalizing of returns to producers from domestic and export markets. The Dried Vine Fruits Equalization Levy Act 1978 (the Act) imposes a levy upon certain dried vine fruits for the purposes of the equalization scheme. The levy applies only to fruit destined for human consumption on the domestic market and the proceeds are later disbursed to producers in the form of an equalization payment over the total amount of fruit of that kind produced in the season. New rates of levy may be fixed for each season which commences on 1 January.
In June 1985 the Act was amended to provide for a progressive reduction, commencing in 1986, in the maximum level of assistance that can be accorded through equalization payments such that by 1990 the equalized returns at the ex-packer level will be no more than 15 percent above average export returns.
When levy is set for a specified kind of dried vine fruit, the rate is determined to ensure that the equalized returns per tonne are unlikely to exceed the average export return per tonne for that kind of dried vine fruit by more than the percentage prescribed by the Act for that season. The maximum percentages for the 1987 season are 28% for sultanas, 34.1% for currants and 63.3% for raisins.
The Australian Dried Fruits Corporation has estimated for 1987 season sultanas, currants and raisins the average export return, the volume of production and the proportions likely to be exported or used for human consumption in Australia, and on the basis of these, has recommended rates of equalization levy to apply to sultanas, currants and raisins of the 1987 season.
The Minister for Primary Industry has accepted the Corporation’s estimates and recommendations as to the appropriate rates of levy and these Statutory Rules accordingly set the rate of levy for sultanas produced during the 1987 season at $400 per tonne, the rate of levy for currants produced during the 1987 season at $434 per tonne and the rate of levy for raisins produced during the 1987 season at $543.
The rate of levy for sultanas is estimated to provide an equalized return per tonne 10.26% above the expected average export return, for currants the rate of levy is estimated to provide an equalized return 25.50% above the expected average export return and in the case of raisins the rate of levy is estimated to provide an equalized return 16.14% above the expected average export return. These rates are within the ceilings prescribed.