"Perfectly Imperfect" Produce: Australian Farmers Struggle to Find Markets Amid Supermarket Requirements

Strategic Insights -

Australian farmers, particularly small family-owned farms, are facing significant challenges due to the high-tech sorting equipment requirements imposed by supermarkets. This equipment, which costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, is necessary to meet the supermarkets' ever-changing standards for size, colour, firmness, ripeness, and sugar content. As a result, an estimated 30 per cent of produce remains unsold and is often sent to landfill, while producers struggle to make ends meet.

Key Takeaways:

  • Farmers Pick, an organisation established in 2020, estimates that 30 per cent of produce never leaves Australian farms due to supermarket requirements.
  • The company has saved 10 million kilograms of "perfectly imperfect" produce since its inception.
  • Small family-owned farms are disproportionately affected by the need for high-tech sorting equipment, which can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
  • The organisation works directly with farmers to buy fruit and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste or landfill.
  • Farmers Pick sources produce from 60 to 70 farms, with warehouses in Sydney and Brisbane.
  • NSW citrus grower Vito Mancini produces 1500 tonnes of blood oranges per year and ships a third of his produce overseas, sells a third in independent fruit shops and wholesale markets, and uses a third to make juice.

Statistics:

  • 30 per cent of produce never leaves Australian farms due to supermarket requirements (Farmers Pick estimate).
  • 10 million kilograms of "perfectly imperfect" produce saved since Farmers Pick's inception (Farmers Pick estimate).
  • 60-70 farms source produce to Farmers Pick.
  • 5-50 per cent of produce never leaves the farm, with citrus being over 50 per cent (Bryce Eishold, Australian Farmers).
  • 5 per cent of mushrooms never leave the farm and are wasted (Bryce Eishold, Australian Farmers).
  • 1500 tonnes of blood oranges produced per year by NSW citrus grower Vito Mancini (Vito Mancini, Redbelly Citrus).

Sources:

  • Australian farmers (name not specified)
  • Australian Farmers (organisation)
  • Bryce Eishold (author)
  • Farmers Pick (organisation)
  • Josh Ball (co-founder, Farmers Pick)
  • NSW citrus grower Vito Mancini
  • Redbelly Citrus (firm, owned by Vito Mancini)