While the Business Council of Australia has defended the profits made by Australia’s supermarkets, saying “unprofitable companies do not invest and hire for long, the growers that supply them say that’s exactly the future they’re facing.
TasFarmers chief executive Nathan Calman told the Senate inquiry into supermarkets that Coles and Woolworths were using their market power to reduce the price paid to farmers while simultaneously increasing prices for consumers.
“At one end of the supply chain, somebody can’t afford to buy something without stealing it,” he said. “At the other end, you’ve got farmers contemplating suicide because they can’t receive a fair price.”
National Farmers’ Federation horticulture sector representative Jeremy Griffith has told the inquiry that some growers have not received a price rise for 15 years. He said the negotiating tactics of Coles and Woolworths amounted to farmers being “held to ransom by a large corporate duopoly,” and the low prices they paid were causing widespread bulldozing of orchards and younger people leaving the industry.Next Generation Sees No Future in Farming
“The average age of every grower is getting way too old, because the next generation simply do not see a future in going into the agricultural sector, and that’s a massive issue for the whole industry, and dare I say, the whole economy,” Mr. Griffiths said.The Senate inquiry, which held its first public hearing in Tasmania on March 7, was told that the supermarkets imposed a tight window on price negotiations for perishable produce, which often meant growers were forced to accept whatever price was offered by supermarkets.
