WA nectarine grower forced to dump 30 tonnes of fruit as Coles snubs locals
April 11 2016
WA Today
Roleystone fruit grower Peter Casotti has been forced to dump 30,000 kilograms of nectarines as retail giant Coles stocks supermarket shelves with imported eastern states-grown stone fruit rather than local produce.
Hills Orchard Improvement Group spokesman Brett DelSimone said tonnes of fruit was being dumped while WA company Wesfarmers, the owner of Coles, turned its back on local growers.
Roleystone grower Peter Casotti has had to dump 30 tonnes of nectarines amid claims Coles looks to the eastern states for product.
"It is a shame that a WA-based retail giant ignores a fresh product that can be placed on shelves within 24 hours," he said.
"Instead, they choose to stock an imported product that has been harvested up to a week or two before, is transported to WA on trucks for days and then transported again through distribution centres."
Tonnes of fruit goes to waste as growers claim Coles favours product trucked across the Nullabor.
Coles refuted the claim with a spokesman saying 85 per cent of stone fruit sold by Coles in WA this year was locally grown.
"We are working with our suppliers to increase the proportion even further," he said.
"Seasonal timing and quality were the main drivers behind the importation of fruit from the eastern states.
"We were finding quality issues at our distribution centre and received a number of complaints from customers about fruit from some WA suppliers," he said.
"Currently there are gaps in our WA supply due to crop timings, and while these gaps are being filled by new varieties, the trees require a few years to grow before they can produce a full crop."
The Coles spokesman said the company was also working to establish a new facility in WA with modern technology to manage the packing of fruit for many local growers.
"The new facility will mean growers are able to expend their energies in their orchards rather than on packing, refrigeration and freight," he said.
Other specialists were also working with growers on variety selection and growing techniques to ensure the success of WA orchards into the future.
Mr DelSimone said consumers were being duped and urged WA shoppers to get behind local producers by asking for locally-grown fruit when they shop.
"Stone fruit prices paid to growers in Western Australia have been falling steadily over the past few seasons, coinciding with an increasing volume of imported produce," he said
"Wholesale stone fruit prices this season are down 30 per cent to levels not seen since 2011."
Mr DelSimone said imported fruit lost its freshness every day it took to cross the Nullarbor.
"Shoppers can't tell between a fresh local product and one that has been sitting around in an interstate coolroom until they take it home and taste it," he said.
Due to the current labelling laws fruit and vegetable retailers are not required to display the state of origin of fresh produce on retail shelves.
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