Hort Connections: Addressing the state of the industry

Even the slightest of increases to the intake of fresh produce from the Australian public could lead to around a quarter of a billion dollar boost to the sector, according to a leading industry expert.

Darren Keating from Produce Marketing Association Australia and New Zealand, told a conference at last week’s Hort Connections expo in Adelaide, that all it would take is ten per cent of the population to have one more piece per day, and the industry has to find a way to encourage more consumption.

"If we get people eating more fruit and veggies, that's two-fold, that's good for health," Mr Keating said. "In Australia people are pretty good at eating their two pieces of fruit a day, about 50 per cent of us. But when it comes to our five serves of veg, we are absolutely rubbish at it. So the challenge we have got, is how we can get more people to eat fruit and veggies."

Mr Keating says a major step in achieving that is analysing and adapting to the changing trends and data in the way people eat, where they eat and how people are getting their groceries. He admits that the internet and social media are being used as effective marketing tools, but says despite the growth in technology, there is still caution from some people when it comes to purchasing online.

"We have so many more sources of information that are coming in and framing how we make decisions," the PMA Chief Executive Officer said. "It goes back to the health aspect and there is so many different dietary trends going on. One of the challenges is that people don't trust getting their fruit and veg online because there is that look and feel and touch. Maybe that's right now and in the Australian market. It's happening differently in different markets around the world, so what we are seeing in North America versus Asia is quite different. Australia is just coming onto it." 

PMA is a global fresh produce trade association serving member companies from right around the world. Mr Keating recognises that more information is available than ever before, through devices such as mobile phone apps, showing there is a desire for healthier products. But the key is getting the link between rural and urban communities and he says Farmers Markets are a step in the right direction in connecting growers to where there is demand.

The "State of the Industry" discussion also featured James Whiteside from AUSVeg, who admits Australian horticulture still has way to go become a united industry. He says in terms of agriculture, it is second to beef but is more fragmented, and bringing everyone together could help with the larger problem of hunger.

"How do you get collaboration, people wanting to work together, put together resources and get some critical mass so we can tackle the common connections," Mr Whiteside said. "As (former Victorian Premier) Jeff Kennett has talked about the lack of a coherent national agri-strategy, where you set about feeding half a million, or a million people over the next 20-50 years. So how is it that we profitably produce nutritious food that allows a lot of people in the world to eat it because it’s affordable?"

AUSVeg points out that increasing the workforce is another key issue the industry must address, admitting that more time and energy needs to be spent at recruiting people at all levels. 

"There's a challenge to get graduates into the industry," he said. "We use the unfortunate term 'unskilled labour', we need to come up with a better word, because recruiting people at all levels of the industry is difficult. Getting people to pick the fruit, work in the packing sheds is one of the biggest problems that we face. We use the word unskilled, but by the time that we are finished with them we've absolutely got them very skilled and efficient."

PMA adds that it is important to help improve the image of the industry workforce, by cracking down and not working with people in the industry who are doing the wrong thing. Mr Keating also wants help from the Government in addressing labour shortages, saying sometimes the only option to keep the production operation rolling is to look internationally.

"There is this notion that it is un-Australian to get an overseas worker," Mr Keating said. "If you ask anyone they would much sooner employ a local person who lives in the town and can actually join the workforce and be there for 5, 10, 20 years. But the labour force sector isn't there. The decision (from the government) to impose another levy for the application on visas, is the notion that farmers are preferentially going overseas to find labour at the expense of domestic labour. Which is dumb."

Hort Connection was a three day, joint industry conference and Trade Show, catering to growers and whole-of-supply-chain companies and organisations.