ANGELO Didone knows not to take green capsicums home to his wife.
“She’ll say, why’d you bring this home to me for? You know I only use red,” he said.
It’s reinforcement for him that consumers want premium red capsicums, and that’s exactly what he is delivering.
The Bundaberg farmer grows about 16 hectares (40 acres) of capsicums, alongside 40ha (100ac) of sugarcane.
Angelo and his father John were the last tobacco growers in Bundaberg. The demise of that industry in the early 1990s prompted the family to look at other crops.
The majority of the crop will be picked as red capsicums with only a small number of green taken off.
A medium sized grower, Angelo is a strong believer in the central markets system, sending fruit to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Angelo said there has been a shift in the Australian public’s food buying habits and it was important for growers to be aware of the trends.
“They want a perfect capsicum. That bell, blocky looking capsicum. They are quite particular in what they want,” he said.
Years ago, varieties tended to have a twist within the fruit’s shape but that’s now frowned upon and likely to have fruit downgraded.
“Now they just want straight sides. If you’ve got something with a bit of a twist or puckering, you’ll get a lesser price,” he said.
“People are quite happy to part with their money providing the product they get is exactly what they want. You create a brand for yourself.”
Assisting in producing that top line are new varieties coming through the breeding pipeline.
Currently Angelo is growing three Seminis varieties- the new 6947 and 9699 varieties, plus the industry tried-and-tested Warlock.
Keeping up with new varieties doesn’t come cheap though. The high cost of seed is a necessary burden the grower has to wear.
Benefits that come with new varieties though include better disease resistance and more climate-suitable fruit.
“We are paying more for those varieties but there is a peace of mind with them. We don’t have these diseases and viruses coming in and taking plants out,” he said.
Angelo’s harvest will begin in the third week of April and go through to about August.
He will employ about 16 staff, mostly backpackers, to get the crop off. Labour is by far his biggest input cost.
He said it can be difficult getting the right people who are wanting and willing to work.
Other costs such as electricity, chemicals and water have tightened profit margins.
“To make really good money, we’ve got to be chasing those big dollars all of the time. That’s part of the reason why I harvest red,” he said.
