Fed: No other farmers doing it as tough as canegrowers: Anderson

AAP General News (Australia)
04-29-2004
Fed: No other farmers doing it as tough as canegrowers: Anderson

CANBERRA, April 29 AAP - Nationals leader John Anderson today defended the generosity
of an expected $350 million package to canegrowers, saying no other farm sector faced
such difficult market circumstances.

Prime Minister John Howard is in Queensland this morning to make the announcement that
might assist as many as 1,000 cane farmers move out of the industry and help sustainability
for those who remain.

Mr Anderson told ABC radio the sugar industry was faced with a disastrously corrupt
global trading environment.

"No industry faces an environment like this one," he said.

"But the great bulk of the sugar is sold on distorted world markets and this is, if
you like, recognition of the need to be fair but to help the industry to restructure.

"I'm a farmer. I think people know that. But I know of no farm sector that faces such
a corrupt world market as this one."

Mr Anderson said farmers would be eligible, if needy enough, for generous re-establishment
assistance.

"What we're really looking for here is an industry with a future and I would hate people
to think from this conversation that the emphasis is on closing it down and getting people
out of it. It is not," he said.

"It is about helping industry transit through a very difficult set of circumstances,
which it finds itself in, largely through no fault of its own."

AAP dep/apm u

KEYWORD: SUGAR ANDERSON

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