Appeals Tribunal Rules on Processing Potato Levy

The Natural Products Appeals Tribunal has issued a ruling on an appeal by three growers of processing potatoes of a decision by the Prince Edward Island Potato Board pertaining to the doubling of levies to finance a potato acreage buy-down in 2005. The appeal was held under provisions of the Natural Products Marketing Act.

The Tribunal has decided that contract-processing volume should be assessed additional levy because the overall prosperity of the potato industry depends on the health of all three sectors – tablestock, seed and processing – and because knowledge gained from the results of the buy-down program would benefit the entire industry, including the processing sector. However, the Tribunal said the levy should be less than the double levy of 14 cents per hundredweight imposed by the Potato Board. The Tribunal has directed that the levy on all processing potatoes be adjusted to 9.6 cents per hundredweight.

The refund awarded by the decision is payable to any producer on the sale of all processed potatoes from the 2005 crop.

The Tribunal does not comment on the reasons for its decision. Copies of the decision are available from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture.