Help save our farmers! How your shopping choices can tackle this alarming crisis
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As the festive season approaches, our beloved tomato farmers are facing a crisis that could leave their fields of red in the red financially.
The situation is dire, with an oversupply of truss tomatoes causing prices to plummet below the cost of production.
This is not just a small hiccup; it's a full-blown glut that threatens the livelihood of growers across the country.
Australian consumers are urged to increase their purchase of truss tomatoes as the industry grapples with excess supply and declining prices before the Christmas holiday.
Truss tomato producers report a surge in oversupply in recent weeks, compelling them to sell their products at significantly reduced prices, often below the cost of production.
Matt McInerney, Manager of a family-owned farm in South Australia's Virginia region, confirmed that no tomatoes were being discarded, but growers like himself were resorting to price reductions to sell excess produce.
‘There certainly is a glut at this stage, for the last few weeks and probably going forward for the next few weeks as well,’ Mr McInerney shared.
‘On a daily basis, we need to find the price that sells the quantity.’
‘It’s well below cost. To grow a tray of truss tomatoes is approximately $9 or $10. We're selling from $5 to $7,’ he lamented.
Jordan Brooke-Barnett, CEO of AusVeg SA, stated that the Christmas season typically poses challenges for tomato growers, and this year, South Australian growers’ difficulties were ‘exacerbated’ by limited access to certain interstate markets.
‘We've had a bit of a perfect storm in our industry, in that we had the end of our last season interrupted by the fruit fly outbreak and the market disruptions that caused, but it's mainly down to the tomato brown rugose virus,’ he pointed out.
‘We’ve got a lot of product now that was destined for that interstate market. [SA] typically, on average, produces about one-third of Australia's tomatoes…but we are returning to trade.’
‘The best fix for our growers is to have a really strong Christmas, to have people buying tomatoes and just hope the markets resolve themselves as we get access to Queensland and WA,’ the CEO added.
Mr McInerney attributed the oversupply to a combination of factors, including industry overexpansion, an unusually warm start to the season, and the outbreak of an exotic fruit virus in South Australia.
‘As an industry, we probably over-expanded over the last three to four years, and we have increased the growing space, the glasshouse greenhouse space, by over 30 hectares,’ he explained.
‘Now, 30 hectares of production in predominantly truss tomatoes puts four million trays of truss tomatoes on the market more than what there was, say, four years ago.’
‘That's a lot for consumers to uptake,’ he remarked.
‘Even the mum and dad farms have doubled and tripled because they had a few good years.’
‘But once the big corporates came into the industry with the many-hectare glasshouse businesses that they have acquired, they saw good returns in previous years, went crazy, and kept on building,’ Mr McInerney continued.
South Australia is also confronting the outbreak of an exotic tomato virus in three greenhouses, which has led to the suspension of all tomato trade with Queensland and Western Australia in recent months.
‘New South Wales and Victoria are still taking tomatoes, but effectively, the Queensland market has cut off to South Australian growers, and they take a significant amount,’ Mr McInerney stated.
‘Not as much as NSW or Victoria, but they certainly take their fair share from a population point of view, so that means there's more in Sydney and Melbourne and the prices are depressed.’
Mr McInerney suggested that the industry should explore long-term sustainability measures.
‘[Growers] will have to strategically have a look at where the low pricing was and perhaps change their planting schedule to come to market or harvest at a different time of year,’ he advised.
‘The other option is switching from truss tomatoes to another crop, maybe cucumbers or capsicum.’
‘After the season's finished, we'll have to sit back and analyse what we've done,’ he added.
For now, he urged consumers to purchase and consume more truss tomatoes.
‘Food processing doesn't pay—that’s an even lower return,’ Mr McInerney pointed out.
‘And now we're seeing tomato fatigue because they’ve been so cheap for so long.’
What are your thoughts on this concerning development? How do you think this could impact your holiday plans? We’d love to hear your insights and stories in the comments below.
The situation is dire, with an oversupply of truss tomatoes causing prices to plummet below the cost of production.
This is not just a small hiccup; it's a full-blown glut that threatens the livelihood of growers across the country.
Australian consumers are urged to increase their purchase of truss tomatoes as the industry grapples with excess supply and declining prices before the Christmas holiday.
Truss tomato producers report a surge in oversupply in recent weeks, compelling them to sell their products at significantly reduced prices, often below the cost of production.
Matt McInerney, Manager of a family-owned farm in South Australia's Virginia region, confirmed that no tomatoes were being discarded, but growers like himself were resorting to price reductions to sell excess produce.
Oversupply of truss tomatoes ahead of Christmas forces growers to sell below cost. Dani California / Unsplash
‘There certainly is a glut at this stage, for the last few weeks and probably going forward for the next few weeks as well,’ Mr McInerney shared.
‘On a daily basis, we need to find the price that sells the quantity.’
‘It’s well below cost. To grow a tray of truss tomatoes is approximately $9 or $10. We're selling from $5 to $7,’ he lamented.
Jordan Brooke-Barnett, CEO of AusVeg SA, stated that the Christmas season typically poses challenges for tomato growers, and this year, South Australian growers’ difficulties were ‘exacerbated’ by limited access to certain interstate markets.
‘We've had a bit of a perfect storm in our industry, in that we had the end of our last season interrupted by the fruit fly outbreak and the market disruptions that caused, but it's mainly down to the tomato brown rugose virus,’ he pointed out.
‘We’ve got a lot of product now that was destined for that interstate market. [SA] typically, on average, produces about one-third of Australia's tomatoes…but we are returning to trade.’
‘The best fix for our growers is to have a really strong Christmas, to have people buying tomatoes and just hope the markets resolve themselves as we get access to Queensland and WA,’ the CEO added.
Mr McInerney attributed the oversupply to a combination of factors, including industry overexpansion, an unusually warm start to the season, and the outbreak of an exotic fruit virus in South Australia.
‘As an industry, we probably over-expanded over the last three to four years, and we have increased the growing space, the glasshouse greenhouse space, by over 30 hectares,’ he explained.
‘Now, 30 hectares of production in predominantly truss tomatoes puts four million trays of truss tomatoes on the market more than what there was, say, four years ago.’
‘That's a lot for consumers to uptake,’ he remarked.
‘Even the mum and dad farms have doubled and tripled because they had a few good years.’
‘But once the big corporates came into the industry with the many-hectare glasshouse businesses that they have acquired, they saw good returns in previous years, went crazy, and kept on building,’ Mr McInerney continued.
South Australia is also confronting the outbreak of an exotic tomato virus in three greenhouses, which has led to the suspension of all tomato trade with Queensland and Western Australia in recent months.
‘New South Wales and Victoria are still taking tomatoes, but effectively, the Queensland market has cut off to South Australian growers, and they take a significant amount,’ Mr McInerney stated.
‘Not as much as NSW or Victoria, but they certainly take their fair share from a population point of view, so that means there's more in Sydney and Melbourne and the prices are depressed.’
Mr McInerney suggested that the industry should explore long-term sustainability measures.
‘[Growers] will have to strategically have a look at where the low pricing was and perhaps change their planting schedule to come to market or harvest at a different time of year,’ he advised.
‘The other option is switching from truss tomatoes to another crop, maybe cucumbers or capsicum.’
‘After the season's finished, we'll have to sit back and analyse what we've done,’ he added.
For now, he urged consumers to purchase and consume more truss tomatoes.
‘Food processing doesn't pay—that’s an even lower return,’ Mr McInerney pointed out.
‘And now we're seeing tomato fatigue because they’ve been so cheap for so long.’
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