News

UPDATE FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER 2020

Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) levy deactivation

From 1 January 2021, the EPPR component of the levy on macadamia nuts, currently set at 0.20 cents per kilogram, will decrease to nil. The EPPR levy is being deactivated as a result of full payment of unwritten industry costs for a response to varroa mite under the EPPR deed. Read more here or click here for more info on macadamia levies and charge rates.

Original post (19 March 2020)

Varroa jacobsoni, a serious threat to European honey bees and threatens the pollination they perform in many crops including macadamias.

The Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for the program to contain and eradicate the mite and has been implementing a response plan that was agreed by State and Federal government and the affected industries. 

In July 2017 the Australian Macadamia Society (AMS) requested that the Emergency Plant Pest Response (EPPR) Levy be activated from nil-rated to a rate of $0.2 cents per kilogram of kernel to repay the macadamia industry’s liability for it’s share of the varroa mite response.  The levy came into effect on 1 April 2018.  

The AMS has been advised that the EPPR levy has now collected sufficient funds to reimburse the Australian Government for funds committed on behalf of the macadamia industry and cover any further contributions required.  Consequently, the AMS has written to the Minister asking that the EPPR levy be deactivated and nil-rated (set at zero) as from 1 January 2021.  This time has been chosen to minimise the chance of inequitable payment of the levy due to the range of crop delivery times across the 2020 harvest season.

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) and the AMS will hold an objection period from 1 April 2020 to 4 May 2020.  During this period any macadamia levy payer who has objections regarding the proposed deactivation of the EPPR levy should notify the AMS or the Department of their concerns in writing.  Any objections received within the objection period will be taken into consideration when a decision on the deactivation is made by the Minister. 

Written objections should be emailed to the AMS at [email protected] 

or sent to the AMS addressed to:

Jolyon Burnett

113 Dawson Street, Lismore, NSW 2480

before close of business on 4 May 2020

Alternatively, objections can be sent to DAWE at [email protected]. 

Click the download button below to read the letter to the Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management requesting the deactivation of the EPPR levy.