GROWERS have been promised better clarity of trade in the supply chain with national funds backing the move.
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The federal government has committed $1.75 million to improve market transparency and bargaining power for the industry.
Funding has been pledged to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences and to an industry consortium led by Fresh Markets Australia.
FMA will receive a grant of $653,950 under the government's $5.94 million program to improve market transparency across perishable agricultural goods supply chains.
The funding will help the markets body develop and build of a web-based application, known as FreshData, that provides verifiable, daily updated market data across all fresh fruit and vegetables.
It will mean growers can access daily market information online about the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables, and the volume of market sales within 24 hours.
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Minister for agriculture at the time David Littleproud said it was a practical example of addressing price transparency in perishable agricultural goods supply chains.
"The more perishable your goods are, the weaker your position at the bargaining table," Mr Littleproud said.
"Australian horticulture produces some of the finest produce in the world, and it's essential that our growers get a fair price in the marketplace."
FMA general manager Gail Woods said the project will investigate, develop, pilot and implement the verifiable market price reporting scheme.
"FreshData will be accessible online, overlaying historical weather and other data to enable the horticulture supply chain to gauge whether prices received are competitive and to deliver price signals to interpret if there is an under or over supply of produce," Ms Woods said.
"The project aims to provide growers with information to inform investments in future supply capacity."
ABARES will conduct a representative survey of apple and pear growers to gain a detailed picture of farm performance with results from the survey to be published on the ABARES website.
It has been one of the toughest seasons on record and growers are not being able to cover their basic costs.
- Jeremy Griffith, APAL
The study will be undertaken using $1 million from existing funding of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
"This work will enable a timely publication cost of production, production margins and overall industry profitability to be determined - transparency that will assist all parties to strike a fair bargain," Mr Littleproud said.
"Understanding an industry's cost of production is essential to understanding if growers are being treated fairly in the market."
Apple and Pear Australia Limited head of government relations and advocacy Jeremy Griffith said the body was very pleased the federal government recognised growers were not getting a fair price their apple and pears.
"It has been one of the toughest seasons on record and growers are not being able to cover their basic costs," Mr Griffith said.
"Undertaking a cost of production study, will help buyers and consumers better understand the true cost of production and hopefully assist in ensuring sustainable long-term pricing."
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