In what is being described as the biggest shake up in the rice industry in more than a century, the NSW Government has revealed details of a bill to end statutory rice export marketing arrangements (known as vesting) in southern NSW by July 1 next year.
It would also see the Rice Marketing Board wound up from July 1, 2026.
The NSW Government’s already announced position to exclude the northern rivers growing region from current vesting arrangements will begin from September 1 this year.
While initially met with some hesitation, the proposal to end vesting has been welcomed this week by SunRice and the Ricegrowers Association of Australia.
NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty announced her bill - expected to be tabled in parliament in coming weeks - when in Albury Tuesday last week.
Later the same day she was hosted by RGA and Business NSW at a business lunch in Deniliquin, which SunRice representatives also attended.
Provided her bill passes through parliament, Ms Moriarty said it would enhance the long-term viability of the state’s rice industry which had an estimated farm gate value of $219 million in 2022-23.
The decision to remove rice vesting also aligns with the recommendations in the recently published Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resources Economics and Sciences ‘Independent Report into Rice Vesting’.
Under the future arrangements, growers will be afforded greater choice and flexibility to pursue a range of markets, including export markets.
It will also benefit the long-term sustainability of the industry in the face of lower water availability and a more variable climate.
“The New South Wales Government, while drafting a bill to modernise the state’s rice marketing arrangements, received requests from rice growers in southern New South Wales to end statutory rice export marketing, the ‘vesting’ arrangements, sooner rather than later,” Ms Moriarty said.
“Growers in the Northern Rivers region have long advocated for a change to vesting and southern growers have recognised the need for greater commercial flexibility to respond to future challenges.
"The New South Wales Government will support industry as it navigates and manages the transition and acknowledges the contributions made by the rice industry during this process.”
An expert Rice Transition Group will be led by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and will focus on research and development opportunities to support alternate supply chains, ensuring seed supply is maintained for all rice growers, unwinding the affairs of the Rice Marketing Board once vesting ends and investigating regional development opportunities.
SunRice chair and Moulamein ricegrower Laurie Arthur said the leading food company and RGA have been working with the government on what the future might look like since the ABARES report was released in April.
“Although our preference was for the New South Wales rice vesting arrangements in their current form to be retained, we believe that the government’s proposal for a partial deregulation between southern and northern growers, over a prolonged timeframe, would have created uncertainty for our industry at a time when we need greater flexibility to adjust to a new operating environment.
“We believe the New South Wales Government’s decision to end vesting by July 1, 2025 is the right decision for our growers, the SunRice business and the future of the New South Wales rice industry as it provides greater certainty into the future.
“With the finalisation of the ABARES report last year, our industry’s operating environment is expected to undergo substantial change.
“We are now facing the impacts of the Federal Government’s Restoring Our Rivers Act 2023, which became law in December 2023, increasing the likelihood of significant water recovery before the next proposed vesting review date.
“The impact of this reform is likely to have an unfavourable impact on the availability and cost of water in southern New South Wales, and accordingly on the Riverina rice industry.
“To retain a strong rice industry, and to maximise returns for our growers in Australia, we consider that a dynamic and flexible model now makes better sense for the industry. Without some of the regulatory constraints of vesting, we believe that SunRice will be able to work more directly with growers to give the industry the best chance of long-term sustainability as we navigate through new challenges, including water reform, that have accelerated the need for the industry to transition.
“In particular, SunRice is now able to assess new contracting and pricing options for growers, which should enable the business to be able to better match supply with demand from our premium markets.
“These new structures should enable both large and smaller rice growers to participate in the industry in a way that better suits each grower’s circumstances while ensuring more consistent supply, which is in the best interests of our growers, shareholders and the SunRice Group.”
SunRice is a diversified global marketing and sourcing business with operations in 10 countries, rice sourcing from 12 countries and consumer markets in over 50 countries.
“We believe this reform will strengthen our ability to secure good quality Australian rice, which, along with rice from our diversified international supply chain, will help drive value for our shareholders,” Mr Arthur said.
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