Prominent potato and cattle producer Trevor Hall has warned shrinking farmgate margins and a lack of transparency in the supply chain are placing growing pressure on Australian farmers, with conditions expected to worsen into 2026.
Mr Hall, who farms near Scottsdale in Tasmania’s north-east, is a leading figure in the Australian agricultural industry.
He operates the multi-generational Quarterway Angus stud alongside a large-scale potato enterprise and is widely known for his national advocacy on behalf of farmers during price negotiations with major supermarkets and processors.
Speaking about the widening gap between what farmers are paid and what consumers outlay at the checkout, Mr Hall said profitability at the farmgate remained the industry’s most pressing issue.
“Profitability is the main issue for farmers and what farmers are paid at the farmgate compared to what families pay at the checkout,” Mr Hall said, adding that many consumers were unaware of the disparity.
“Families are unaware due to the lack of transparency and also farmers’ lack of bargaining power.“
Mr Hall said current potato prices were unsustainable, despite strong consumer demand and rising production costs.
“I am earning $500 a tonne for potatoes but that really needs to be $700 a tonne to continue,” he said.
He said escalating input costs, including machinery, fertiliser and labour, were putting intense strain on growers, particularly in the vegetable sector.
“On the vegetable side of things, the vegetable industry in Australia is going to struggle because our input, machinery and labour costs are so dear.“
While larger producers may be able to absorb some of the impact, Mr Hall warned that smaller growers were increasingly vulnerable.
“But a lot of the smaller vegetable growers will take the impact and so we will bear the brunt, meaning conditions in 2026 will only get worse,” he said.
As both a producer and industry advocate, Mr Hall has consistently pushed for reforms that strengthen farmers’ bargaining power and improve transparency between processors, retailers and growers.
He said without meaningful change, Australia risked losing family farms that had operated for generations.
“Farmers want to keep producing food for Australian families,” he said. “But we need pricing structures that reflect the real cost of production if the industry is to remain viable into the future.”
Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said farmers would still be hurt in 2026 at the hands of big supermarkets, after Labor had failed to act and fully implement its Australian Competition and Consumer Commission price inquiry report.
This is despite Labor saying before the election, it would first implement the ACCC recommendations.
It is now almost 300 days since the report, however, and hardly any recommendations have been implemented.
Prior to the election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised:
“We will, if we are elected, implement firstly the ACCC’s supermarket inquiry recommendations. That’s about improving transparency.”
Mr Littleproud said farmers continued to have margins squeezed and, with 40 per cent of vegetable farmers considering leaving the industry, this was of great concern to Australia’s farmers and food security.
“Action should have been taken by now,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The large supermarkets are the market, which means suppliers still have little bargaining power and can still be treated unfairly.
“This will have enormous implications in 2026 because fresh food suppliers are particularly vulnerable in negotiations with large supermarkets.
“Also, training of farmers and suppliers to understand their rights under the mandatory food and grocery code of conduct and to build their capacity to negotiate with supermarkets won’t begin until at least February, nine months since Labor promised to implement it.
“That’s why The Nationals are calling for divesture powers. We need big stick legislation to hold supermarkets to account and so a future Coalition government will introduce big stick competition laws, ensuring fairness for families and farmers.
“We also need stronger on the spot fines of $2 million and audits at any time of supermarkets, as well as a Supermarket Commissioner, to act as a confidential avenue for farmers and suppliers to also address the fear of retribution.
“This would be a game-changer for farmers and suppliers because it would change culture and protect those who need it most.”
Mr Littleproud added the Albanese Labor Government took more than two years to make the Food and Grocery Code mandatory after it was called for by The Nationals and then three months to get a price inquiry after The Nationals called for it.
“Now, in 2026, the implementation of the recommendations from the price inquiry are still taking time – the urgency is just not there,” Mr Littleproud said.
