PRODUCE Marketing Association Australia - New Zealand is aiming to paint a detailed picture of the fresh produce sector with the release of a new report.
PMA A-NZ launched its inaugural Fresh Produce Industry: State of the Industry Report at Hort Connections 2019 in Melbourne on Monday.
The report, compiled by Ernst & Young, examines the current economic profile of the fresh produce industry throughout Australia and New Zealand.
It identifies an array of consumer trends that it says will be impacting the future of the industry.
According to PMA A-NZ, this is the first time fresh produce has been defined as a specific industry and the first time the size and scale of the industry has been measured in this way using value chain indicators.
Figures from the report show the Australian horticulture industry supply chain:
- Has an industry turnover of $45.9 billion
- Employs 130,614 people
- Earned $1.3 billion in exports
- Involves 18,442 businesses.
It showed 46.8 per cent of the fresh produce industry turnover was in the fresh fruit and vegetable retail subsector, with Australia having a ratio of $2.34 of exports to every $1 of imports in 2018.
One trend highlighted was that there has been modest but not significant growth in the fresh produce industry over the past five years
PMA A-NZ chief executive officer, Darren Keating, officially launched the report within his address to delegates.
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Mr Keating described it as a "more than one cup of coffee" report that would take some digesting, but he encouraged delegates to explore its findings.
"By adding the data and insight we can start to better understand the why and look for opportunities," Mr Keating said.
"There are three observations so far; the produce industry is big - in value, in jobs and in opportunity; across the data we see a large amount of year to year variation however growth is still limited; and there are a large amount of drivers for change.
"The majority of the industry trends identified (in this report) have emerged over the last 10 years and remain present within A-NZ and the global market."
He urged the hort industry to utilise the new information in order to grow as a sector.
"I'd like you to think about how you can grow your business, not by pinching from each other, but pinching it off grains or meat," Mr Keating said.
The full report is available to PMA A-NZ members.
- An executive summary version of the report is available for free on the PMA A-NZ website at pma.com/global-pma/anz.com