Crazy fruit prices may put buyers off for good

    PIA AKERMAN
    The Australian
    January 04, 2014


CONSUMERS are paying more at the greengrocer for their favourite summer fruits, after supplies of avocados, stone fruits and mangoes failed to meet strong holiday season demand.      :(

For avocado growers, it has been a lean year with reduced crops around the country but particularly in southwest Western Australia, where most of the domestic summer supply is sourced.

Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said he had seen prices for single avocados exceed $5 at retail outlets, creating serious risks that customers would stop buying the fruit, triggering memories of problems faced by the banana industry in the wake of Cyclone Yasi.    

"You turn consumers off and then it takes a long time to get those people back in the habit of eating avocados again," Mr Tyas said.      ;)

"We want consumers to be able to buy a good-value crop year round, but because demand seems to be increasing each year, it pushes that gap and takes the prices up to levels that we don't like seeing."

Supplies of much-loved summer mangoes are down after a reduced crop across the Northern Territory and the Kimberley, leaving Queensland to pick up the slack.

Australian Mango Industry Association chief executive Trevor Dunmall said there was no clear explanation for why the northwest areas had suffered, particularly in the Kimberley where some producers are struggling to find any fruit on their trees.

"Mangoes are a little bit of law unto themselves," Mr Dunmall said. "For a lot of growers in the north, it's been a tough year."

A mild winter and spring have also reduced peach and nectarine numbers, pushing prices up to levels not seen for the past few years.

Forecasts for the coming year are more optimistic, particularly among avocado growers who plan to plant more trees as they expand into foreign markets.

Brothers Stewart and Mitchell Ipsen intend to plant more than 20,000 trees on their avocado farms near Manjimup, 300km south of Perth.

Stewart Ipsen said they were hoping to grow market sales in Southeast Asia and parts of the Middle East ahead of tightening competition at home.

"We've been trying to steadily increase our markets and the volume that's leaving our shores because a lot of trees are being planted and the forecasts are that things will get tougher in Australia," he said.

"The price of avocados will fall here, it has to. With prices at $3 (per avocado) or above, there is definite resistance and sales will fall away pretty fast."

Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said he had seen prices for single avocados exceed $5 at retail outlets, creating serious risks that customers would stop buying the fruit.  Come on guys, cut your prices.      :(

wrote on Jan 4^th, 2014 at 6:53am:

Come on guys, cut your prices.

But it isn't clear from the article as to whether or not the rising prices are due to retailers increasing their margins or just to the laws of supply and demand.

Does Abbott have an alibi?

If you ever worry about the price of fruit, try comparing it with what people pay for confectionary, fruit is still cheap

Not so long ago there had been no farm gate price rise for fruit in 10 years while the retail price had gone up 600%

What ever the problem is you cant really blame farmers for undersupply, they simply could not afford to grow fruit.

wrote on Jan 4^th, 2014 at 6:53am:

Come on guys, cut your prices.      :(

Jeez, didn't see that coming.


Wadda we want?

Simplistic solutions to complex problems relating to macro economics in the agricultiral industry


Wenna we wan 'em?


Now!

wrote on Jan 4^th, 2014 at 6:50am:

Crazy fruit prices may put buyers off for good     PIA AKERMAN     The Australian     January 04, 2014 CONSUMERS are paying more at the greengrocer for their favourite summer fruits, after supplies of avocados, stone fruits and mangoes failed to meet strong holiday season demand.      :( For avocado growers, it has been a lean year with reduced crops around the country but particularly in southwest Western Australia, where most of the domestic summer supply is sourced. Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said he had seen prices for single avocados exceed $5 at retail outlets, creating serious risks that customers would stop buying the fruit, triggering memories of problems faced by the banana industry in the wake of Cyclone Yasi.     "You turn consumers off and then it takes a long time to get those people back in the habit of eating avocados again," Mr Tyas said.      ;) "We want consumers to be able to buy a good-value crop year round, but because demand seems to be increasing each year, it pushes that gap and takes the prices up to levels that we don't like seeing." Supplies of much-loved summer mangoes are down after a reduced crop across the Northern Territory and the Kimberley, leaving Queensland to pick up the slack. Australian Mango Industry Association chief executive Trevor Dunmall said there was no clear explanation for why the northwest areas had suffered, particularly in the Kimberley where some producers are struggling to find any fruit on their trees. "Mangoes are a little bit of law unto themselves," Mr Dunmall said. "For a lot of growers in the north, it's been a tough year." A mild winter and spring have also reduced peach and nectarine numbers, pushing prices up to levels not seen for the past few years. Forecasts for the coming year are more optimistic, particularly among avocado growers who plan to plant more trees as they expand into foreign markets. Brothers Stewart and Mitchell Ipsen intend to plant more than 20,000 trees on their avocado farms near Manjimup, 300km south of Perth. Stewart Ipsen said they were hoping to grow market sales in Southeast Asia and parts of the Middle East ahead of tightening competition at home. "We've been trying to steadily increase our markets and the volume that's leaving our shores because a lot of trees are being planted and the forecasts are that things will get tougher in Australia," he said. "The price of avocados will fall here, it has to. With prices at $3 (per avocado) or above, there is definite resistance and sales will fall away pretty fast."

I would never pay $5 an Avocado...... & by rights these fruit should never be any higher than $1. They are consistently the most inconsistent quality of fruit to purchase.

It's like Russian Roullette ... a real gamble buying Avos.

If you bought half a dozen you would be lucky to score 2 or 3 out of 6 that were fully usable/edible.

They are either green or left over ripe & inedible off the shelf. And regardless of how well you monitor them to what you think is optimal ripeness ... they are often full of brown/black hard spots & stringy.

This is not an acceptable product to warrant such prices. If consumers complained about all the issues with retailing Avacados then they wouldn't be worth growing because the complaints would be many, but people(Aussies) don't ... so the poor retail presentation continues.

Gnads you have nailed one of the problems for fruit crops.
No quality control.

One of the reasons I left the industry was  because supermarket buyers never purchased on quality,only on price.

And very few consumers have the skill to select a quality product from a dud product by looking at it.

I was picking at perfect maturity levels and the supermarkets (I heard this second hand) said they were having the best return custom from buying my fruit.
But at no time did they contact me or offer to work cooperatively to keep me in business, they just bought my produce and mixed it with other inferior fruit to trick their customers and maximise their profits at my expense.

I hate them with a passion.

Gnads wrote on Jan 4^th, 2014 at 12:41pm:

If you bought half a dozen you would be lucky to score 2 or 3 out of 6 that were fully usable/edible. They are either green or left over ripe & inedible off the shelf. And regardless of how well you monitor them to what you think is optimal ripeness ... they are often full of brown/black hard spots & stringy.

You must be getting them from a rather dodgy outlet if that's the case.  There is an occasional one that isn't as good as expected but, out of half a dozen, I would expect to find at least five of them to be OK.

Regardless of how good they were, I wouldn't pay more than $3 for one though.

Frances wrote on Jan 4^th, 2014 at 11:45pm:

Gnads wrote on Jan 4th, 2014 at 12:41pm: If you bought half a dozen you would be lucky to score 2 or 3 out of 6 that were fully usable/edible. They are either green or left over ripe & inedible off the shelf. And regardless of how well you monitor them to what you think is optimal ripeness ... they are often full of brown/black hard spots & stringy. You must be getting them from a rather dodgy outlet if that's the case.  There is an occasional one that isn't as good as expected but, out of half a dozen, I would expect to find at least five of them to be OK. Regardless of how good they were, I wouldn't pay more than $3 for one though.

Agreed.

I've never had any real problems with them.

Pay about $3 max.

Frances wrote on Jan 4^th, 2014 at 6:59am:

wrote on Jan 4th, 2014 at 6:53am: Come on guys, cut your prices. But it isn't clear from the article as to whether or not the rising prices are due to retailers increasing their margins or just to the laws of supply and demand.

I agree here. Supply is reduced, so prices will increase to constrain demand.

I had a look at Aldi at Baulkham Hills yesterday and they were selling avocadoes for $1.99 (didn't buy one, as they looked like they were only fit for the compost heap), Harris Farm also had them for $1.99 (slightly better quality, but they still didn't look that great) and Woolworths had really good ones for $2.99.  I didn't get around to checking out what Coles had on offer.

I didn't see any for anything near $5....

The prices dont put ppl off as we saw with bananas. Since they can get away with it they will do it.

Also why buy crap just because its cheap?

SOB

Never forget the look on my parents face when they came to Australia and saw them $13 per kilo.

They are 8p each in Tesco.  ;D

Frances they haven't been $5 ...... but not long back they were very close ..... $4.98 is close enough for me. At that price they stayed on the shelf for mine.

The Avos I have been buying were Woolies @ $2.98 .... & at that price I expect a premium product.

It's not....... usually buy 4 or 6 .... they look OK ..... & I'm very picky with selection but consistently they are full of black & brown spots & stringy...... no matter how well they are judged/timed for ripeness.

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 5:06am:

The prices dont put ppl people off as we saw with bananas. Since they can get away with it they will do it.

It was a bit of a joke with the bananas. At the supermarkets they were selling them at up to $16 a kilo so nobody was buying them and they would just sit there until they went off.

It was such a waste

What's the friggin problem?  When supply is plentiful, prices are low.  When supply is scarce, prices rise.

Presumably you're all adults,  so why does this even need to be explained? 

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 5:15am:

Never forget the look on my parents face when they came to Australia and saw them $13 per kilo. They are 8p each in Tesco.  ;D

how much are mangoes at Tesco's?

wrote on Jan 4^th, 2014 at 6:53am:

Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said he had seen prices for single avocados exceed $5 at retail outlets, creating serious risks that customers would stop buying the fruit.  Come on guys, cut your prices.      :(

We pay through the nose for prices because that's what we are prepared to do. It's part of a nationalistic tendency. Pay, be proud, don't complain.

Put another way high prices are a legacy of being an Aussie. Eliminate 'Aussie', eliminate high prices (and just about everything else negative about our country).   

$1.99 a kilo for grapes yesterday.

Gee, I don't know how anyone can afford these crazy prices.

GA wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 11:14am:

wrote on Jan 4th, 2014 at 6:53am: Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said he had seen prices for single avocados exceed $5 at retail outlets, creating serious risks that customers would stop buying the fruit.  Come on guys, cut your prices.      :( We pay through the nose for prices because that's what we are prepared to do. It's part of a nationalistic tendency. Pay, be proud, don't complain. Put another way high prices are a legacy of being an Aussie. Eliminate 'Aussie', eliminate high prices (and just about everything else negative about our country).

Well that would be the reason if you were a nut case. ::)

Otherwise most understand high demand, low supply = higher prices.

We have 3 fruit and veggie stalls on the way home, all have avo’s at 3 for $5.
;)

... wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 8:46am:

What's the friggin problem?  When supply is plentiful, prices are low.  When supply is scarce, prices rise. Presumably you're all adults,  so why does this even need to be explained?

That works in theory.
In the real world however with perishable fruits, supply is scarce, price rises, retailer is unable to sell fruit, fruit goes bad and is wasted.

The_Barnacle wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 11:32am:

... wrote on Jan 6th, 2014 at 8:46am: What's the friggin problem?  When supply is plentiful, prices are low.  When supply is scarce, prices rise. Presumably you're all adults,  so why does this even need to be explained?  That works in theory. In the real world however with perishable fruits, supply is scarce, price rises, retailer is unable to sell fruit, fruit goes bad and is wasted.

well that's not what's happened here:


Quote:

CONSUMERS are paying more at the greengrocer for their favourite summer fruits, after supplies of avocados, stone fruits and mangoes failed to meet strong holiday season demand

They sold all their stock.  ie demand exceeded supply, thus inflating the price.

FriYAY wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 11:21am:

GA wrote on Jan 6th, 2014 at 11:14am: wrote on Jan 4th, 2014 at 6:53am: Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said he had seen prices for single avocados exceed $5 at retail outlets, creating serious risks that customers would stop buying the fruit.  Come on guys, cut your prices.      :( We pay through the nose for prices because that's what we are prepared to do. It's part of a nationalistic tendency. Pay, be proud, don't complain. Put another way high prices are a legacy of being an Aussie. Eliminate 'Aussie', eliminate high prices (and just about everything else negative about our country).    Well that would be the reason if you were a nut case. ::) Otherwise most understand high demand, low supply = higher prices. We have 3 fruit and veggie stalls on the way home, all have avo’s at 3 for $5. ;)

We grow our own avocados, as the Americans do. They pay around $1.00 each for theirs. Why? Because that's all they expect to pay.  They demand reasonable prices because it's part of their Christian culture not to rip each other off, or to be ripped off.

GA wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 11:42am:

FriYAY wrote on Jan 6th, 2014 at 11:21am: GA wrote on Jan 6th, 2014 at 11:14am: wrote on Jan 4th, 2014 at 6:53am: Avocados Australia chief executive John Tyas said he had seen prices for single avocados exceed $5 at retail outlets, creating serious risks that customers would stop buying the fruit.  Come on guys, cut your prices.      :( We pay through the nose for prices because that's what we are prepared to do. It's part of a nationalistic tendency. Pay, be proud, don't complain. Put another way high prices are a legacy of being an Aussie. Eliminate 'Aussie', eliminate high prices (and just about everything else negative about our country).    Well that would be the reason if you were a nut case. ::) Otherwise most understand high demand, low supply = higher prices. We have 3 fruit and veggie stalls on the way home, all have avo’s at 3 for $5. ;) We grow our own avocados, as the Americans do. They pay around $1.00 each for theirs. Why? Because that's all they expect to pay.  They demand reasonable prices because it's part of their Christian culture not to rip each other off, or to be ripped off.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/7e2de6391f48c569f53576a40c55a665/tumblr_mg15hpfUDF1rntezlo1_400.gif

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 5:15am:

Never forget the look on my parents face when they came to Australia and saw them $13 per kilo. They are 8p each in Tesco.  ;D

Apart from us just being ripped off here, another reason for our high prices is that restrictions that prevent diseases coming into the country also stop competition from imports. The British don't grow bananas, they can import and sell them at fair prices. 

I've read this story and the posts that go with it. What the story and the replies fail to give you all is fact, it only gives you misinformation with no knowledge behind it. Let me clear up a few things here, firstly what's wrong with our farmers getting paid the money they should be getting ( depending on who the deal with) for once?

Now what this story fails to point out is why there is a difference in the price of supermarket avocados and the avocados that you buy from a quality fruit shop.
The reason is the supermarkets currently are running New Zealand avos which cost a lot less , are approx 4-6 weeks old , if you are lucky! They also buy a different count (smaller avos) to what most fruit shops sell as their main avo line, the count on what say Coles buy is a 25-28 count which costs $32-$35   in NZ fruit, Woolies are on NZ fruit size 20-25 count probably paying somewhere around $35-$40 at best again with the same aged fruit. Now if you go to a quality fruit shop the wont be using NZ fruit , they will be on Aussie fruit in a 16-20 count that depending on who they deal with will be 7-10 days old and be paying $50-$55 and from this week $60-$65.
Now this is the key who they deal with!
There is a reason a avocado breaks down or cuts black, it's either a problem at farm level or a problem at wholesale level.
So if it breaks down with antraknose its either been on the tree to long or hasn't been sprayed properly.
If it cuts black its a wholesale problem it's either been stored to long and to cold, or the customer have brought it at the fruit shop and taken it home and put it in their fridge.
Now this all comes back to who the fruit shop is dealing with, because if the wholesaler knows how to firstly manage their fruit, it will be stored at the right temp, it will be rotated and ripened properly . A good wholesaler will turn the fruit over within a week from farm to fruit shop and not hold fruit, now a good fruit shop buys on the best quality not price.
The problem with getting quotes from industry bodies that are made up of growers is that there's no one policing the industry, with leads to more problems of growers the drop quality standards to make a supermarket spec.
The supermarkets might say their buy premium fruit but they aren't, there is a handful of growers that pack to a true premium standard in which EVERY piece of fruit is unmarked and you will never not be able to eat every piece in a tray.
These growers don't cut corners, they spray when their fruit needs to be sprayed, even if it costs them and extra $2 a tray they do because they have pride in what they do! ( I'd love to name these excellent growers but can't) Unlike a supermarket , a quality fruit shop knows who these growers are! Unlike the supermarket a quality fruit shop knows the wholesalers that handle these growers! Unlike a supermarket the quality fruit shop knows how to work fruit and how to handle it correctly, who do you think knows how to handle fresh produce properly? The fruiterer who learnt the right way or the teenage kid who gets told by another teenage kid ( who was head trolley boy the day before )on the way the supermarket does it, and really doesn't care because he gets treated like crap. And all the knowledge he has comes from a company leaflet.  You all wonder why the stuff you buy from the chains is crap and you throw it in the bin?? Stop supporting the easy option and support the fruit shop who has the knowledge and experience to give you quality! People seem to think handling fruit and veg is a easy thing, you need to know how to buy and how to handle the produce, when I was taught my craft I was lucky to learn from one of the best, it was what I was taught 25 years ago  I still follow today. I just can't understand how people on here are quick to call for imports of fruit and veg because they don't want to pay $4 for a avo, but understand this once you open the door to year imports of avocados you can't close it! So that means Sth American avos flood or shores and while it will bring your price down, kiss our whole farming industry goodbye.
It's bad enough that a ton of our prime farming land is being sold off to China and other countries, and this is prime farming land! Not unusable land so what happens when because no Aussies want to support our true Aussie farmers they all sell out and yes you might just pay 50 cents an avocado year round, but when everything these former Aussie farms is getting sent back to China or what ever other country it is, what are we going to do then? Where will our food come from? Our farmers are great people, take pride in the fact that we have the best growers in the world, we have the best produce in the world.
If given the choice of paying $10 for an Australian avocado or $1 for a imported avocado, I'll take the fresh Aussie one every time and be proud to support our farmers!

back aussie farmer wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 10:52am:

I've read this story and the posts that go with it. What the story and the replies fail to give you all is fact, it only gives you misinformation with no knowledge behind it. Let me clear up a few things here, firstly what's wrong with our farmers getting paid the money they should be getting ( depending on who the deal with) for once? Now what this story fails to point out is why there is a difference in the price of supermarket avocados and the avocados that you buy from a quality fruit shop. The reason is the supermarkets currently are running New Zealand avos which cost a lot less , are approx 4-6 weeks old , if you are lucky! They also buy a different count (smaller avos) to what most fruit shops sell as their main avo line, the count on what say Coles buy is a 25-28 count which costs $32-$35   in NZ fruit, Woolies are on NZ fruit size 20-25 count probably paying somewhere around $35-$40 at best again with the same aged fruit. Now if you go to a quality fruit shop the wont be using NZ fruit , they will be on Aussie fruit in a 16-20 count that depending on who they deal with will be 7-10 days old and be paying $50-$55 and from this week $60-$65. Now this is the key who they deal with! There is a reason a avocado breaks down or cuts black, it's either a problem at farm level or a problem at wholesale level. So if it breaks down with antraknose its either been on the tree to long or hasn't been sprayed properly. If it cuts black its a wholesale problem it's either been stored to long and to cold, or the customer have brought it at the fruit shop and taken it home and put it in their fridge. Now this all comes back to who the fruit shop is dealing with, because if the wholesaler knows how to firstly manage their fruit, it will be stored at the right temp, it will be rotated and ripened properly . A good wholesaler will turn the fruit over within a week from farm to fruit shop and not hold fruit, now a good fruit shop buys on the best quality not price. The problem with getting quotes from industry bodies that are made up of growers is that there's no one policing the industry, with leads to more problems of growers the drop quality standards to make a supermarket spec. The supermarkets might say their buy premium fruit but they aren't, there is a handful of growers that pack to a true premium standard in which EVERY piece of fruit is unmarked and you will never not be able to eat every piece in a tray. These growers don't cut corners, they spray when their fruit needs to be sprayed, even if it costs them and extra $2 a tray they do because they have pride in what they do! ( I'd love to name these excellent growers but can't) Unlike a supermarket , a quality fruit shop knows who these growers are! Unlike the supermarket a quality fruit shop knows the wholesalers that handle these growers! Unlike a supermarket the quality fruit shop knows how to work fruit and how to handle it correctly, who do you think knows how to handle fresh produce properly? The fruiterer who learnt the right way or the teenage kid who gets told by another teenage kid ( who was head trolley boy the day before )on the way the supermarket does it, and really doesn't care because he gets treated like crap. And all the knowledge he has comes from a company leaflet.  You all wonder why the stuff you buy from the chains is crap and you throw it in the bin?? Stop supporting the easy option and support the fruit shop who has the knowledge and experience to give you quality! People seem to think handling fruit and veg is a easy thing, you need to know how to buy and how to handle the produce, when I was taught my craft I was lucky to learn from one of the best, it was what I was taught 25 years ago  I still follow today. I just can't understand how people on here are quick to call for imports of fruit and veg because they don't want to pay $4 for a avo, but understand this once you open the door to year imports of avocados you can't close it! So that means Sth American avos flood or shores and while it will bring your price down, kiss our whole farming industry goodbye. It's bad enough that a ton of our prime farming land is being sold off to China and other countries, and this is prime farming land! Not unusable land so what happens when because no Aussies want to support our true Aussie farmers they all sell out and yes you might just pay 50 cents an avocado year round, but when everything these former Aussie farms is getting sent back to China or what ever other country it is, what are we going to do then? Where will our food come from? Our farmers are great people, take pride in the fact that we have the best growers in the world, we have the best produce in the world. If given the choice of paying $10 for an Australian avocado or $1 for a imported avocado, I'll take the fresh Aussie one every time and be proud to support our farmers!

Yes, Aussie nationalism would have us paying $10 each for avocados.  And, the Aussie farmer, our 'mates from the bush' are the lousy types that wouldn't even piss on us if we were on fire, but at the same time are the first to scream hardship when there is fire & drought etc.

So, you can shove your flag-waiving buy Aussie crap back into your tucker-bag where it belongs.

GA wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 11:19am:

back aussie farmer wrote on Jan 9th, 2014 at 10:52am: Now what this story fails to point out is why there is a difference in the price of supermarket avocados and the avocados that you buy from a quality fruit shop. The reason is the supermarkets currently are running New Zealand avos which cost a lot less , are approx 4-6 weeks old , if you are lucky! They also buy a different count (smaller avos) to what most fruit shops sell as their main avo line, the count on what say Coles buy is a 25-28 count which costs $32-$35   in NZ fruit, Woolies are on NZ fruit size 20-25 count probably paying somewhere around $35-$40 at best again with the same aged fruit. Now if you go to a quality fruit shop the wont be using NZ fruit , they will be on Aussie fruit in a 16-20 count that depending on who they deal with will be 7-10 days old and be paying $50-$55 and from this week $60-$65. Now this is the key who they deal with! There is a reason a avocado breaks down or cuts black, it's either a problem at farm level or a problem at wholesale level. So if it breaks down with antraknose its either been on the tree to long or hasn't been sprayed properly. If it cuts black its a wholesale problem it's either been stored to long and to cold, or the customer have brought it at the fruit shop and taken it home and put it in their fridge. Now this all comes back to who the fruit shop is dealing with, because if the wholesaler knows how to firstly manage their fruit, it will be stored at the right temp, it will be rotated and ripened properly . A good wholesaler will turn the fruit over within a week from farm to fruit shop and not hold fruit, now a good fruit shop buys on the best quality not price. The problem with getting quotes from industry bodies that are made up of growers is that there's no one policing the industry, with leads to more problems of growers the drop quality standards to make a supermarket spec. The supermarkets might say their buy premium fruit but they aren't, there is a handful of growers that pack to a true premium standard in which EVERY piece of fruit is unmarked and you will never not be able to eat every piece in a tray. These growers don't cut corners, they spray when their fruit needs to be sprayed, even if it costs them and extra $2 a tray they do because they have pride in what they do! ( I'd love to name these excellent growers but can't) Unlike a supermarket , a quality fruit shop knows who these growers are! Unlike the supermarket a quality fruit shop knows the wholesalers that handle these growers! Unlike a supermarket the quality fruit shop knows how to work fruit and how to handle it correctly, who do you think knows how to handle fresh produce properly? The fruiterer who learnt the right way or the teenage kid who gets told by another teenage kid ( who was head trolley boy the day before )on the way the supermarket does it, and really doesn't care because he gets treated like crap. And all the knowledge he has comes from a company leaflet.  You all wonder why the stuff you buy from the chains is crap and you throw it in the bin?? Stop supporting the easy option and support the fruit shop who has the knowledge and experience to give you quality! People seem to think handling fruit and veg is a easy thing, you need to know how to buy and how to handle the produce, when I was taught my craft I was lucky to learn from one of the best, it was what I was taught 25 years ago  I still follow today. I just can't understand how people on here are quick to call for imports of fruit and veg because they don't want to pay $4 for a avo, but understand this once you open the door to year imports of avocados you can't close it! So that means Sth American avos flood or shores and while it will bring your price down, kiss our whole farming industry goodbye. It's bad enough that a ton of our prime farming land is being sold off to China and other countries, and this is prime farming land! Not unusable land so what happens when because no Aussies want to support our true Aussie farmers they all sell out and yes you might just pay 50 cents an avocado year round, but when everything these former Aussie farms is getting sent back to China or what ever other country it is, what are we going to do then? Where will our food come from? Our farmers are great people, take pride in the fact that we have the best growers in the world, we have the best produce in the world. If given the choice of paying $10 for an Australian avocado or $1 for a imported avocado, I'll take the fresh Aussie one every time and be proud to support our farmers! Yes, Aussie nationalism would have us paying $10 each for avocados.  And, the Aussie farmer, our 'mates from the bush' are the lousy types that wouldn't even piss on us if we were on fire, but at the same time are the first to scream hardship when there is fire & drought etc. So, you can shove your flag-waiving buy Aussie crap back into your tucker-bag where it belongs.

Such a well thought out response GA!!!

Do you just wipe your chin and smear it on the screen?

:D ::)

back aussie farmer wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 10:52am:

I've read this story and the posts that go with it. What the story and the replies fail to give you all is fact, it only gives you misinformation with no knowledge behind it.

You seem surprised by this. You obviously haven't been on this forum very long

;) ;D

FriYAY wrote on Jan 9^th, 2014 at 11:37am:

[quote author=GA link=1388782222/27#27 date=1389230397][quote  Such a well thought out response GA!!! Do you just wipe your chin and smear it on the screen? :D ::)

I didn't need to think about it. I've seen this type of long winded post before, they always disguise what they are actually saying, regardless of the topic, which in this case is a load of nationalistic crap being used by some one supporting an industry that sells typically overpriced 'aussie' products. 

And why, for example, doesn't he explain how it is that NZ avocados are cheaper, and that's after the are shipped all the way over here.  And I was looking at avocados in Woolworths just the other day, and they didn't look all that small. And if I remember right they were over $3.00 each.

So, don't let it worry you. Pay $10.00 each for avocados (waiving the flag as you do it). But Just remember this simple rule: the Aussie farmer's profit is our loss.

Avocados in Woolies Allenstown Rockhampton yesterday were
$3.98. I didn't check their origin .... just scoffed at the price & how unlikely I'd be to buy them.

As for NZ Avos .... when I last saw them was when Avos were at the highest prices .....

& the NZ product was the dearest

not the cheaper.

Mind you they were bigger & looked better quality...

however I did not/would not pay the price

Firstly GA your comments say more about you than the Aussie Farmer! I'm from the city and I wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire! And if you are buying your avocados from Woolies you really have no idea of what I'm talking about! So if you hate Australia so much and everything we stand for, simple LEAVE!

So now lets blow your dead poo theory out of the water! After reading more of your comments , you really have no clue about what you are talking about.
The theory on imports is great, it really shows how smart you think you are, seem bitter that all the year of private education and you sell news papers at the train station.
Apart from us just being ripped off here, another reason for our high prices is that restrictions that prevent diseases coming into the country also stop competition from imports. Lets quote you GA "The British don't grow bananas, they can import and sell them at fair prices."
They made do that and good luck to them, but they buy all their produce from a 3rd world country without high labor cost, now it costs $20 a tray to produce one tray so avocados grow a biennial crop, so for you GA because you have no idea , means last year was a big crop this year is small.
But after such a huge crop last year , this year the trees needed a break, so good farmer stripped early for the tree to recover for next year, meaning next year we will have lower prices.

So GA see if you can get this around your bitter mind set, if a grower has say 500 acres with lets say on a good year 200,000 trays but this year he might get 15,000 yet he has the same cost for the year to produce the both, why should you get up set if the price is high?

So if I was you I'd just keep buying your 2nd grade NZ stringy blotchy 6 week old crap and let people who want to buy quality stick to the Aussie stuff because clearly you are a nut job.

I fully understand not buying them because of the price, and up north they would be NZ.

Gnads wrote on Jan 10^th, 2014 at 3:52pm:

Avocados in Woolies Allenstown Rockhampton yesterday were $3.98. I didn't check their origin .... just scoffed at the price & how unlikely I'd be to buy them. As for NZ Avos .... when I last saw them was when Avos were at the highest prices ..... & the NZ product was the dearest not the cheaper. Mind you they were bigger & looked better quality... however I did not/would not pay the price

back aussie farmer wrote on Jan 10^th, 2014 at 5:54pm:

Firstly GA your comments say more about you than the Aussie Farmer! I'm from the city and I wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire! And if you are buying your avocados from Woolies you really have no idea of what I'm talking about! So if you hate Australia so much and everything we stand for, simple LEAVE!

I haven't bought an avocado in years, and don't buy tomatoes unless they are under $2.00 a kg. Why? because I'm not an 'Aussie', and refuse to get ripped off. I hate Aussieland, and will gladly leave, provided that all you Aussies agree to do the same. That is you all pack off back 'ome to muvva England.


Quote:

So now lets blow your dead poo theory out of the water! After reading more of your comments , you really have no clue about what you are talking about. The theory on imports is great, it really shows how smart you think you are, seem bitter that all the year of private education and you sell news papers at the train station. Apart from us just being ripped off here, another reason for our high prices is that restrictions that prevent diseases coming into the country also stop competition from imports. Lets quote you GA "The British don't grow bananas, they can import and sell them at fair prices." They may do that and good luck to them, but they buy all their produce from a 3rd world country without high labor cost, now it costs $20 a tray to produce one tray so avocados grow a biennial crop, so for you GA because you have no idea , means last year was a big crop this year is small. But after such a huge crop last year , this year the trees needed a break, so good farmer stripped early for the tree to recover for next year, meaning next year we will have lower prices.

Cheap imports explain why the British pay less than the Americans do for bananas. But why is it that avocados retail in the US for around $1.00 each?


Quote:

So GA see if you can get this around your bitter mind set, if a grower has say 500 acres with lets say on a good year 200,000 trays but this year he might get 15,000 yet he has the same cost for the year to produce the both, why should you get up set if the price is high? So if I was you I'd just keep buying your 2nd grade NZ stringy blotchy 6 week old crap and let people who want to buy quality stick to the Aussie stuff because clearly you are a nut job.

If we stop buying and start complaining then prices will come down. But this wont happen, our nationalistic culture is preventing us standing up and demanding more.