INTERNET shopfronts, Facebook marketplace, farmers markets, distribution partnerships; growers have more ways than ever to sell their products.
There are still benefits though in the tried and tested central markets system.
An online forum as part of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences' (ABARES) Outlook conference in March tossed around how the fresh produce supply chain handled the various city lockdowns, food service disruptions, labour shortages and supply issues over the past two years. (Story p7).
The forum looked at both the central markets and supermarket direct contracts.
While the global pandemic created many headaches and losses among wholesale traders, by and large most managed to work around supply issues and dug deeper to get the job done.
A string of reports from greengrocers, who source from the markets, backed this up.
During the height of coronavirus's sweep across Australia, the usual stories came out of food shortages on supermarket shelves and how transport challenges threatened fresh supply lines.
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But the independents, the girls and guys running the local fruit and vegetable shop, just seemed to source from other suppliers and get on with the job.
In an online article, one greengrocer spoke of the freedom of not being restricted by purchasing agreements to buy produce from a specified small number of growers, something which helped the business keep going.
With little fanfare, the central markets system kept the food up to many, many people during the tough times.
A read through some of our Markets Profile columns from recent years shows a common theme of significant changes within the wholesale markets, notably more growers selling directly to supermarkets.
Another notable trend was the rise of fresh produce box delivery businesses as a means of working around the COVID-19 disruptions.
This has been embraced as a solid business expansion for many.
The ability to tweak the business model was another example of how those on the markets floor were able to bend and swerve to factors which influence the social fabric.
To be fair, the major supermarkets did their best to keep food flowing.
One can only imagine the pressured, perhaps tense, phone calls between supply managers and growers trying to figure out when a truck could get through, what condition the produce will be in and how that might affect payment.
Growers should not be deterred from new ways of selling; it creates diversity and spreads the supply and demand load.
But the traditional way of going through the central markets should be recognised for its continued importance within the Australian food system and the long history of keeping Aussies fed.
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Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
