VICTORIAN Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas should “get out of the way” if she can’t secure more timber amid a shortage of pallets, according to Murray Plains MP Peter Walsh.
Mr Walsh last week told State Parliament that the east cost food supply chain was “in chaos” because of the shortage.
But a government spokesperson said there was an unprecedented demand for timber both here and overseas, including from local plantations, being driven by post COVID-19 activity in housing, renovations, DIY and retail markets.
Shortages of timber pallets have been attributed to a number of factors by distributors and manufacturers, one of the main reasons being that businesses are keeping pallets rather than returning them for recirculation.
“The fruit season in my electorate has just started, and the fruit growers cannot get the pallets they need to put the fruit on to send to market,” Mr Walsh said.
“CHEP is the major supplier of pallets in Australia, and at the moment when fruit is taken to Brisbane or to Sydney, they are not allowing the trucks to bring back pallets, so every fruit grower is losing pallets with every load they send away and cannot get new pallets back.”
Mr Walsh said one of the reasons for the shortage was a “critical shortage” of hardwood timber in Australia that makes pallets.
“What I would do is call on the Minister for Agriculture, who has responsibility for the timber industry, to make sure that there is actually timber available to make pallets so that the food can actually get to the consumers here in Australia, particularly on the east coast,” he said.
“If the minister cannot do that, I would actually ask the minister to get out of the way and let a new minister take over the role so that there is enough timber to make pallets so that the great food and produce that our farmers produce can actually get to market and be consumed.”
The Nationals leader said there would be “absolute chaos” if there were not enough pallets.
“You cannot ship food around the east coast of Australia without pallets, and I would ask the minister to make sure that timber is made available.”
A government spokesperson said there was a worldwide shortage of pallets and other timber products, due to trade issues, bushfires and the coronavirus pandemic, with current litigation placing an additional strain on the availability of supply in Victoria.
“The government is working with industry to ensure there is minimal disruption to production,” the spokesperson said.
Heavy pallets are made from native hardwood predominantly in Victoria.
Light pallets are made from pine, with some large producers across Australia.
“Five out of six trees harvested in Victoria already come from plantations and we are increasing the amounts of commercially grown trees across the state,” the spokesperson said.
