Peak horticulture organisation, Growcom, has called for the establishment of real time price information for fruit and vegetables traded in the wholesale markets as part of its submission under the review of the mandatory Horticulture Code of Conduct.
“Growers have made it clear to Growcom that they want to know what price their product sells for at point of sale. They want transparency in their dealings with the wholesalers; they want real time price information and this should be readily achievable with modern technology,” said Chief Executive Officer Pat Hannan.
“Horticulture produce selling is a bit like stocks and shares. The price can shift dramatically in a day and the price paid in the wholesale markets can then dictate the price in the supermarkets. However, the market information provided by the Market Information Services is not based on real sales data and is too slow,” Mr Hannan said.
“It is disappointing that despite a mandatory Horticulture Code of Conduct being in place for nearly 10 years we continue to hear from our growers many examples of poor practice,” he said.
“This point needs to be balanced by the fact that many of our growers confirm that there are valued relationships between growers and wholesalers that are working very well. Some of these relationships extend over several generations.