HIA boss calls for united front

Mr Lloyd delivered the opening address this morning at the 2015 National Horticulture Convention on the Gold Coast which has drawn some 1300 people.

For the first time, the convention is a combined event between Ausveg and Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL).

Mr Lloyd made it clear at the beginning on his presentation that he did not want to focus too much on his organisation but to make broader observations about horticulture as a whole.

He paid tribute to the working relationship HIA has had with both Ausveg and APAL in research and industry representation.

But following the line: "Horticulture is a wonderful place to be at the moment," Mr Lloyd's back-patting stopped there.

"I'm increasingly convinced that the real enemy out there is the Mars Bar. Horticulture needs to unite," Mr Lloyd said.

He said the fragmented representation of the 43 industry groups continued to push and shove between themselves for attention.

He said the HIA restructure and current developments were about aligning goals.

"It's more about getting the house in order. We're part of the solution," Mr Lloyd said.

"Our domestic focus leads to competitive rather than collaborative relationships.

"The fragmentation in horticulture leads to a lack of power and relevance."

He gave a blatant assessment of the current system as "market failure" in terms of basic research, data collection, transformational research, chemical access and capital markets.

"We've got no data for our industry, virtually," he said.

He devoted particular attention to industry representation and the need to encourage "a great calibre of people" to lead horticulture organisations.

"We are the second or third biggest agriculture industry in Australia but we are treated like the 10th.

"It's the job of representative bodies to hold government to account."

The National Horticulture Convention and Trade Show continue tomorrow (Saturday).

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