Ausveg SA to investigate state of fresh produce industry

Ausveg SA will partner with the University of Adelaide’s SA Centre of Economic Studies to provide a State of the Industry report to support industry and government decision making with greater insight into the industry challenges and opportunities for growth. The investigation comes with support from the South Australian government who have granted Ausveg SA with A$65,000 for their research. 

“It was proposed by industry in South Australia at the previous state election as a means for industry to gain greater insight into the competition challenges facing growers,” said Ausveg SA chief executive, Jordan Brooke-Barnett. 

“Industry saw the need for greater data to support our advocacy efforts on behalf of industry in light of supermarket downward pressure on farmgate prices and food inflation which were hurting consumers and growers alike.” 

Brooke-Barnett said the goal is to provide growers with greater data to assist with their pricing strategy. It will also give government decision makers the information needed to enact policy decisions that will support industry. 

“[The report] aims to provide an extensive investigation into industry challenges, opportunities and supermarket margins on fresh produce,” he said. 

“The study will look into average supermarket margins across key crops grown in South Australia to provide an average of farmgate vs retail returns and compare these to gross returns for other sectors.” 

This comes in light of the much-publicised cost of living crisis in Australia. 

Primary industries and regional development minister, Clare Scriven, said this research will identify supply chain constraints and opportunities for future growth of the sector. 

“Horticulture is a vital contributor to the South Australian economy through revenue generated but also as a significant source of employment in many of our regions,” she said. 

“We have amazing produce coming out of SA and we’re excited to see the sector to continue to grow.”