West Australian 'Potato King' Tony Galati will be allowed to grow as many spuds as he wants after a long campaign to have the potato market deregulated, according to reports.
The WA Potato Marketing Corporation, which sets the price growers receive for potatoes, decides who can grow them, how much they can grow and what varieties, will be scrapped from July 1.
SpudShed owner Mr Galati has been vocal in his opposition to the regulator, which enforces a 1946 law set up in the days of post-war food security worries.
The Potato Growers Association last week met with Agriculture Minister Dean Nalder to push for deregulation to be brought forward, ABC Online reported late on Thursday.
"We're very conscious that consumers and industry have been wanting some certainty about where the industry is going," the Minister told the ABC.
But Association chief executive Simon Moltoni released a statement saying it was disappointing the cabinet had failed to fully brief industry.
"I would have thought it would have been courteous for the government to brief us first rather than our members reading of the government decision via online media", he said.
"Even the government's own Potato Marketing Corporation has yet to be informed of the decision regarding the timing and process of the proposed deregulation, so their staff will have learned about their fate in this morning's newspaper."
More to come
