THE Australian Banana Growers' Council (ABGC) will not buy out a North Queensland property infected with Panama Tropical Race 4 (TR4).
The ABGC held talks over several months with the property owners, the Robson family, however those talks ended this week without an agreement.
Separate discussions were also held with other banana growers and industry members.
The 166-hectare farm in the Tully Valley remains under quarantine due to the soil-borne fungal disease.
The idea behind the buy-out was to allow the farming operations to be closed down as part of measures to reduce the risk of TR4 spreading.
“Also discussed was an alternative proposal whereby the farm could be leased from the family so they could retain ownership of the property and receive lease payments while the farm was out of banana production," ABGC chair Doug Phillips said.
Mr Phillips said the proposals were just two of the possibilities discussed as part of the banana industry’s continuing actions to consider every option for reducing the risk of TR4 spreading from the only farm in North Queensland where an infestation has been detected.
“The ABGC will continue to work on the ongoing TR4 response and to discuss a range of options," he said.
"It’s only through these sorts of discussions that we will find the best possible solutions.
He said no further discussions on either proposal were planned.
“The ABGC would like to thank the Robson family for participating in the discussions and considering the proposals put to them," he said.
Mr Phillips also thanked the other growers and banana industry members for their participation in discussions.
"It’s clear from all our discussions that industry members are very focused on ensuring TR4 remains contained," he said.