Collaborating to compete: the imperative for the South Australian citrus industry

This paper arises from a series of economic reports into the South Australian citrus industry undertaken by the Department of Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA). The citrus industry faces a number of significant challenges. Future prosperity depends on the response. Principles of Transaction Cost Economics are drawn upon to understand the nature of the investments involved in citrus growing, permitting the identified problems to be viewed in light of inefficiencies and opportunism and the solutions to focus upon collaboration. Collaboration, in both the vertical and horizontal dimensions, through both formal and informal mechanisms, is presented as the key imperative for the industry. The themes emerging from our analysis present a significant departure from the competition-focussed policies that have dominated government involvement in industry development.