Desperate farmers are begging big supermarkets to cut their fruit and vegetable prices, claiming “price gouging“ will force them off the land.
In fact, Daintree Fresh Far North Queensland farmer Shaun Jackson warns “Australia will run out of food“ as farmers refuse to sell to local retailers and “walk away“.
Mr Jackson said he now exported 80 per cent of his melons to Japan as, in Australia, he received $1.50 for an average melon, which supermarkets then sold for about $5.90 each.
“Instead of dealing with Coles and Woolworths I’m now sending 200,000 boxes of melons overseas,” Mr Jackson said.
“My cost of production is $14 for a box (and) right now the supermarket price is $12 to $14 a box. “For that, it costs me $4 per box to get the product from a truck to Brisbane.
“So, I’m gone, it’s goodbye Shaun if that continues in 2024.
“(And) it’s not just me. We are on the precipice of losing 30pc of farming, which (equates to) 30pc of food, if we don’t fix it.”
In November, Natural Earth Produce Victorian farmer Ross Marsolino said he was prepared to walk away from a 32-hectare zucchini crop if he failed to get more than $2 per kilogram in 2024.
“We will walk away from the whole farm this year if we have to,” he said.
“I have 50 workers who will have to go and find another job. The supermarkets are buying our product for $1.80 a kilo but then retailing them for $4.99 a kilo when, in reality, our product should be selling for under $3 a kilo.
“Since Covid, supermarkets have got stronger and stronger. Now supermarkets make too much profit out of our crop and we simply can’t survive.
“The more you produce the more you lose. They dictate the price and I have no confidence in supermarkets anymore.”
AusVeg backs Messrs Jackson’s and Marsolino’s concerns.
A recent survey by the horticultural industry’s peak body found record low morale, with more than 30pc of Australian vegetable growers considering leaving the industry this year.
Labour shortages, policy changes and rising operational costs are their major concerns.
Coles and Woolworths own 65pc of the market share and made record profits of more than $1 billion each last year.
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud is calling for an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Inquiry into fruit and vegetables.
To ensure, he said, supermarkets paid their fair share.
As families struggle to pay for their food amid a cost-of-living crisis, supermarkets are still making record profits, even though all they are doing is putting fruit and vegetables on the back of a truck and onto the supermarket shelves, Mr Littleproud said.
“Farmers are walking away because supermarkets are taking them for a ride.“
Mr Littleproud said the matter was urgent and a Senate Inquiry into grocery prices this year wouldn’t go far enough.
“I previously called for an ACCC Inquiry into beef and lamb but it must also now investigate fruit and vegetables – we need to investigate the price disparity, compel CEOs to give evidence and have greater penalties for those who do the wrong thing, including not paying farmers a fair price.“
According to comparison website Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker, the average Australian household spent $182 on their weekly grocery shop in October 2023.
In all, 39pc of respondents said grocery shopping caused them financial stress. That number doubled over the past three years, from 19pc in October 2020.
Finder analysed the cost of items across Woolworths, Coles and Aldi and found the most expensive shop cost seven per cent more than the cheapest option.
The total price for a basket of 46 goods from Aldi came to $199.69, followed by Woolworths at $208.85 and Coles at $214.32.
