Come on lets try a little harder when selecting products. Our fresh fruit and vegies and seafood against imports i bet you know which way i go come on lets make our locals stronger.
Agree but cannot understand the logic behind primary producers who open Farmers Markets and then attempt to sell their produce for MORE than the independents. Same with wineries. Go to a winery and their product is more expensive than BWS or other major or even smaller wine sellers. If they want my money, sell me your product at the same or preferably less than what I can get if for at the supermarket.
Totally agree, buy Australian but don't price me out of buying Australian.
You have hit it on the head Bob , we live in Echuca and the local farmers market is open on the other Sat of the month and we always go but the same stall sells fruit for the same price as the supermarkets and often for more ! We still buy her product but really I don,t get it . I am off on a fishing trip to Mildura for a week and the leader of the opposition said to make sure I stop at all the honestyboxes on the trip home down the Murray hwy next to the river and fill up with all the fruit ,nuts, berries and bloody asparagus ! and whatever else I can get ,when I get back we divvie it up and give it to the freeloaders [thats the family ]! Plus we always feel good about ourselves for perhaps making a difference.We go as a convoy ,12 blokes 12 tinnies and we all do the same thing.The upside is I get to have pure fresh fruit juice every day till we run out .Some blokes go the wineries but as you say I am honest enough to say it is too dear for my budget .My limit is the 10 buck section of Ozzie wine .Cheers John.
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Westy. Some people I know are like slinkies. They look really funny when you push them downstairs !
Think about this:-
The ONLY Australian manufacturer of frozen Australian grown vegetables (Simplot Australia) is not far from closing because a number of the other well known Australian brands have moved their plants to New Zealand in order to capture the Chinese vegetable market where they market via New Zealand to Australian tables (without the food being labelled specifically as Chinese) and Simplot is finding it hard to compete. This was shown on the program Landline on the ABC (Sunday 15/9).
SHOULD SIMPLOT CLOSE, THIS MEANS THAT NO AUSTRALIAN GROWN FROZEN VEGETABLES WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ALL AND WE WILL BE RELYING ON FOOD GROWN TOTALLY OUTSIDE OF AUSTRALIA . For a number of reasons this is not a good situation.
1. As most people know, other countries do not necessarily have the strict guidelines for growing their vegetables that Australia has and by buying Australian we can be sure that lethal chemicals that may be used in other countries will not be used on Australian vegetables.
2. We would be keeping Australians in jobs.
3. If ever the world became unstable regarding wartime we would not be able to feed ourselves.
It is imperative that we all support these Australian brands selling good Australian vegetable products (via Simplot).
Birdseye
Edgell
Next time you shop, please think about the future of Australian food.
What do you reckon folks? Lets buy Birdseye and Edgell.
Some of us love our designer labels. We buy premium brand shoes, premium brand clothing and well known premium perfumes and handbags.
BUT ... we also look buy the cheapest food we can for our children to eat. That doesn't make sense.
This is so true, the farmers in Tasmania are extremely worried about Simplot's impending closure.
They also have a lone plant in Bathurst subjected to the same uncertainty.
If these last remaining plants close, it means that China then has total control over our fresh/frozen vegie industry.
Particularly disturbing to see that Chinese Grown vegetables are coming in branded as a product of New Zealand ..
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Getting old dont make you smarter just more Cunning
Simplot is a wholly owned USA based company and all its profits go overseas. They have been forcing Tas farmers prices down over the last few years and their main clients are Macdonalds, KFC and Mc Cain, overseas owned companies, as well as coles/woolworth home brand.
They get a lot of their produce direct from Sth America and only continue in Tas and Aus because of contracts with coles/woolworth and intend moving their entire production and purchasing to NZ and Argentina in 2015-16.
Aus has the highest farm costs because we are one of the only countries on the planet that allows open borders free trade, which is subsidised by the country of origin and no protection for our industries and primary producers.
Birdseye is owned by a USA and European based companies and Edgell, is owned by Simplot. You'll struggle to find a food processing company that is Australian owned.
You may pay the same or a bit more at farmers markets, but you are getting real Aus food, supporting Australians and not imported dishonestly labeled junk.
Shopping at coles/woolworth, is aiding the monopolisation of our food, liquor and fuel supplies and forcing up prices. To me shopping at the duopoly is fully supporting the destruction of our farming and food production industries.
As the old saying goes, short term gain always ends in long term pain.
Agree but cannot understand the logic behind primary producers who open Farmers Markets and then attempt to sell their produce for MORE than the independents. Same with wineries. Go to a winery and their product is more expensive than BWS or other major or even smaller wine sellers. If they want my money, sell me your product at the same or preferably less than what I can get if for at the supermarket.
Totally agree, buy Australian but don't price me out of buying Australian.
Bob (and SWBO says exachery)
I just wonder if paying slightly more at a Farmers market for Fresh Fruit and Vegies isn't preferable to lining the pockets of the big corporates.
We know that the Corporates real screw the price paid to large producers for volume buys of their product then set the price with a good profit margin.
What do the small producers who only have a limited amount of produce to sell do? For them to be able to sell at the farmers market at a better price may be the difference between living with a life style they want or not.
I have worked for a big Corporate and know from first hand experiece People are nothing Profit is God.
If Australian producers can not supply at their price IMPORT.
I agree with you Crackles. When Coles and Woolworths reduce their prices, they don't reduce their profits but screw the farmers even harder. I'd rather pay a little more at a farm stall if its affordable.
There are many primary producers who say "If ya don't have a Woolies/Coles contract, ya screwed!"
There just as many other primary producers who say "If ya have a Woolies/Coles contract, ya screwed!"
Damned if ya do ... and damned if ya don't.
The "middle-man", even more so than the Woolies/Coles buyer, are the ones who really screw the primary producer.
And you are right Dorian ... "harvesting" of our fruit and vegetables is predominantly done by backpackers and "old fart GNs". It is too hard for the young unemployed ... they don't earn enough then there is + fuel + travel time + plus getting up early + working for 8 hours .. and they don't make as much as NewStart in many cases.
Cheers - John
-- Edited by rockylizard on Sunday 16th of February 2014 11:02:39 AM
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2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
How many young unemployed people pick the fruit and vegetables that go into our locally made canned and frozen produce?
Sweet bugger all, if the cherry farm in the Huon, and the berry farm down the road are any indication. Both freely admit they use international students/backpackers for the majority of their seasonal workforce, as they can't get locals.
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The Mobile Madhouse: me (Rosie), him (Troy), a kelpie, a kelpie-dingo, a husky & a rainbow lorikeet.
Hey guys. None of the above is surprising. Just remember if they keep us running around in circles like chooks you know what happens to to them. All im saying is be aware of how the general public is being manipulated on a daily basis. Now zoom the prices on the pic i will try to print. The 1.5 litre is on the shelf at waist high The 2litre is on the floor Pic taken at one of the big two this week.
The "middle-man", even more so than the Woolies/Coles buyer, are the ones who really screw the primary producer.
-- Edited by rockylizard on Sunday 16th of February 2014 11:02:39 AM
Please tell me "Who is the middle man" ? What does the middleman do to screw the primary producer ? Is he related to the bag man ?? Come on now give me a constructive answer.
The "middle-man", even more so than the Woolies/Coles buyer, are the ones who really screw the primary producer.
Please tell me "Who is the middle man" ? What does the middleman do to screw the primary producer ? Is he related to the bag man ?? Come on now give me a constructive answer. The "middle man" is the organisation that actually buys the produce from the primary producer and then on-sells it to the ultimate seller - be it Woolies/Coles/whoever. They buy at lowest price and re-sell at the highest price they can get - some try to call it 'value add'.
dazz49 wrote:
dorian wrote:
How many young unemployed people pick the fruit and vegetables that go into our locally made canned and frozen produce?
Only employed young people pick the fruit because they have been proactive and have found work. The unemployed are home in bed. Assume this is tongue-in-cheek ?
My earlier response to Dorian...
rockylizard wrote:
~~~ And you are right Dorian ... "harvesting" of our fruit and vegetables is predominantly done by backpackers and "old fart GNs". It is too hard for the young unemployed ... they don't earn enough then there is + fuel + travel time + plus getting up early + working for 8 hours .. and they don't make as much as NewStart in many cases.
Cheers - John
Cheers - John
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2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
The "middle-man", even more so than the Woolies/Coles buyer, are the ones who really screw the primary producer.
-- Edited by rockylizard on Sunday 16th of February 2014 11:02:39 AM
Please tell me "Who is the middle man" ? What does the middleman do to screw the primary producer ? Is he related to the bag man ?? Come on now give me a constructive answer.
The middle man is normally the wholesaler, who used to provide transport, packaging etc and had the responsibility of selling to retailers, normally at wholesale markets and auctions. However coles/woolworth don't use them and go direct to the producer, forcing them into contracts which give the duopoly the right to change the pricing and contract conditions at will.
They also demand produce be of a uniform size, weight and colour, rejecting anything that doesn't fit those parameters. Then they throw it out and don't pay the supplier because they claim it didn't fit the requirements of the contract. In lot so of cases, growers can lose up to 80% of the crop because it is unacceptable to the duopoly and that's why you are seeing more and more growers selling at markets, to get back their lost investments.
The duopoly see this as a threat to their profit growth and have begun threatening any contracted growers, that if they sell any thing they produce other than through the duopoly contracts, their contract will be cancelled and they will be take to court for breach of contract.
To achieve the demanded parameters, growers have to use chemical fertiliser and growth products to get uniform size and colour, that's why they all taste like cardboard.
Yet the majority roll up thinking they are getting a good deal and in reality are destroying Aus agriculture and food production. Then they line up and vote for the fools that make this happen and wonder why, their lives are getting more expensive, their kids and grand kids can't get jobs and nothing improves, just gets worse.
if it wasn't so serious and fatalistic, it would be hilariously funny.
The "middle-man", even more so than the Woolies/Coles buyer, are the ones who really screw the primary producer.
Please tell me "Who is the middle man" ? What does the middleman do to screw the primary producer ? Is he related to the bag man ?? Come on now give me a constructive answer. The "middle man" is the organisation that actually buys the produce from the primary producer and then on-sells it to the ultimate seller - be it Woolies/Coles/whoever. They buy at lowest price and re-sell at the highest price they can get - some try to call it 'value add'.
dazz49 wrote:
dorian wrote:
How many young unemployed people pick the fruit and vegetables that go into our locally made canned and frozen produce?
Only employed young people pick the fruit because they have been proactive and have found work. The unemployed are home in bed. Assume this is tongue-in-cheek ?
My earlier response to Dorian...
rockylizard wrote:
~~~ And you are right Dorian ... "harvesting" of our fruit and vegetables is predominantly done by backpackers and "old fart GNs". It is too hard for the young unemployed ... they don't earn enough then there is + fuel + travel time + plus getting up early + working for 8 hours .. and they don't make as much as NewStart in many cases.
Cheers - John
Cheers - John
Now come on Lets get our facts correct.
Coles and Woolworths both have produce buyers who source their fruit, veg, etc direct from the producers in most cases they have contract grower / suppliers Your statement about middlemen is a furphy used by the uninformed to explain what they do not know about. The middleman is the transporter, the fuel agent. the landlord, the govt tax man, the packaging man, the picker, the bank, the chemical company, the phosphate company, the energy company, workers compensation, the insurance company and everyone else in the line who has some input in producing an article and getting it to your mouth.
