Tim Reid

A reshuffle of the Australian Horticulture Market Access Committee (HMAC) has elected independent grower Tim Reid as chairman, drawing praise from the country’s horticulture sector.

Mr Reid is the president of Fruit Growers Tasmania and Australian Cherry Growers, and runs cherry and apple grower-exporter Reid Fruits in Tasmania.

The election of an independent grower to the position on the Committee has pleased some who believed the industry was under-represented in the Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL) body, reported The Weekly Times.

Mr Reid replaces HAL general manager John Webster in the position, and said the HMAC would follow a Tasmanian strategy that has seen a new export market opened up every 18 months.