Exports are kicking goals!

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Great progress has been achieved with respect to avocado exporting efforts. Australian avocado exports for FY24 to 11 February were 13,503 tonnes which was 149 per cent above the same period in 2022/23. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia accounted for 81% of all exports to date in FY24 while others are rapidly increasing share. Japan has recorded 970 tonnes from Western Australia for the 2023/24 season to date. Thailand has recorded 603 tonnes under the new protocol and now exceeds the previous highest annual volume recorded in 2011. Over 230 tonnes have been exported to India in the past 8 weeks.

The above results indicate that the Avocados Australia led project “Avocado Market Access and Trade Development” (AV20004) has achieved great progress in increasing exports. This project finishes in July and a new project that aims to build on AV20004 is currently being planned. Avocados Australia was selected by Hort Innovation as the preferred partner for the new Export Development project.

Hort Innovation has led two co-design workshops (one was held last year in Brisbane on 12 December 2023 and the most recent one was held in Western Australia on 30 January) that provided members of the industry with the opportunity to provide input into the planning process for the new Export Development Project (AV23003). The purpose of the co-design workshops was to work with industry members and other key stakeholders in identifying the priorities for the new five-year project. In all, the two co-design workshops brought together 25 stakeholders that included industry and government representatives. The co-design workshops proved to be very effective. East coast and west coast industry stakeholders have some different requirements and challenges, yet both were aligned in their priorities. Findings like these showed that the consultation and planning process is going in the right direction.

Extensive industry consultation is essential given the rapid expansion of the avocado export sector. Plans are in place to widen the consultation process to ensure that the project supports industry members at different levels of their export journey and provides an opportunity for stakeholders to have greater input and insight into the Avocado trade development project.

The next step involves a facilitator synthesising all of the findings and analysing all of the feedback from the workshops. This will identify the priorities and provide Avocados Australia with the direction it needs for crafting the new project. Great care and thorough planning will ensure that the new project has a robust program, is well structured and well-resourced to support further growth. The new Export Development Project will further implement the Avocado Export Strategy 2022-2026.

This article was produced for the February 2024 edition of the Avo Insider.

Market Access Update

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

We look into the rear mirror to review 2023 and see the entire Australian avocado industry clap their hands to acknowledge one another’s tremendous efforts to grow exports and activate market access opportunities. 2023 was a stellar collegiate effort to help not only achieve access to Thailand and India, but also drive forward the opportunities within the International Market Access Advisory Panel’s ‘approved pools for prioritisation and market improvement’ – Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, and New Zealand. The avocado industry acknowledges, and thank greatly, the sustained, tenacious efforts of DAFF, and DFAT, to assist troubleshooting some of the complexities arising in the final negotiations and gazettal for protocols to India and Thailand; in particular, the Market Coordination & Strategy team at DAFF, and our esteemed Agricultural Counsellors, Kiran Karmal (India), and Amber Parr (Thailand).

Thailand

Western Australia had their first season exporting to Thailand since 2013 and as of January 28, 2024, shipped 536tonnes, achieving a milestone of 4% market share. We had 4 packsheds and 13 growers accredited to export from Western Australia, and we saw many of these businesses hitting the pavement in Thailand building their brand credentials and strengthening their relationships with importers, wholesalers, and retailers. We look forward to the opportunities that year two trade can bring for our Western Australian industry, and no doubt will be watching the export volumes accelerate toward 1000t.

India

The Indian protocol was gazetted midway through the Western Australian season. DAFF, AAL, and industry, worked at a feverish pace to complete registrations and accreditations to allow trade to begin as soon as possible. We had 4 packing sheds and 16 growers accredited. Between these accredited properties we have seen 150tonnes exported to India over a period of 6 weeks with most recent data accumulated to January 28, 2024. AAL is coordinating the online registration process for QLD, NSW, VIC, and SA, and as at Friday 2 February, 2024, we have 10 packing sheds and 32 growers registered with audits and accreditations forthcoming. AAL and Hort Innovation will be collaborating on the India launch scheduled for May, with the ambassadorship of one of Australia’s most esteemed cricketers, and fast bowlers, Brett Lee. We expect this event, and support of Brett Lee, will invigorate the local Indian demand for our Aussie avocados and help demonstrate why our product is some of the best in the world.

Japan

Western Australia is again showing their prowess, increasing their market share in Japan to a very handsome 7% with a total of 935t exported up until 28 January 2024. This is circa 340% increase on the 272t (2% market share) exported in the 22-23 season. Again, we have seen many of our Western Australan exporters with boots on the group in Japan driving their relationship and brand across importers, wholesalers, and retailers. Further, we have seen our Japan Agricultural Counsellor, Tom Parnell, and Australian Trade Commissioners, Murray Spence, cutely leverage their social media platforms to push our Aussie brand and product quality throughout their expansive Japanese networks.

China

AAL continues to explore avenues to build the Aussie avocado brand and identity in China with a view to market access. Avocados sit within the IMAAP pool for prioritisation and to progress the opportunities in China, AAL and China Entry-Exit Inspection Quarantine Association co-hosted an official MoU signing ceremony in Beijing, Friday November 10. The signing coincided with the visit of QLD Premier, Hon. Anna Palaszczuk, and Trade Investment Queensland CEO, Just McGowan. In the presence of many leading Chinese importers and wholesalers, the ceremony successfully activated the beginning of building capabilities toward technical market access for Australian avocados. As a result of the MoU, in December and January, major Chinese fruit importers Riverking, and SupaFresh, respectively, visited Western Australia and Queensland farms and packshed to research potential supply opportunities. We managed to align their visits so they could join us in discussing our plans for China with WA Agricultural Minister, Hon. Jackie Jarvis, and QLD Agricultural Minister, Hon. Mark Furner, and they strongly expressed their desire to import Australian avocados in those meetings. Mainland apples, and blueberries, are the Commonwealth’s market access priorities currently for China, and AAL are actively building dialogue with federal authorities to understand ways to reinvigorate trade negotiations between China and Australia in respect to mainland apples and blueberries to bring forward the prioritisation opportunity for Australian avocados.

Vietnam

Vietnam remains an opportunity for Australian avocados, and there is hope that Vietnam and Australia complete the current technical 2×2 negotiations, which could enable avocados to be a potential successor in the next prioritisation process. We have plans for 2024 to visit Australia’s Agricultural Counsellor to Vietnam, Tony Harmon, to engage in detailed conversation about navigating the opportunities ahead.

Taiwan and South Korea

Avocados remain in the IMAAP pool for prioritisation, and it is yet to be determined whether AAL will undertake market visits to Taiwan and South Korea given the likely long timelines to establish prioritisation business cases.

Fresh & Secure Trade Alliance (FASTA)

AAL, represented by CEO, John Tyas, myself, AAL Board Directors Matt Kleyn and Chip Saint, attended the inaugural FASTA Avocado Roundtable R&D Workshop. The Roundtable convened in Brisbane, Thursday December 7. Also in attendance were DAFF, QDAF, DPIRD, HIA, CSIRO, and Wayne Prowse (Director, Fresh Intelligence). The workshop derived very strong and progressive action items that we expect will lead swiftly into some exciting Q-fly R&D to supplement conditional non-host existing data. We expect to achieve optimistic results which will aid DAFF in any forthcoming technical negotiations. As a result of the workshop, an overarching Market Access R&D Plan will be created to give industry strategic guidance to move forward and develop greater technical market access credentials and bandwidth. It is important to note that market access research on Shepard is already in train to be undertaken during the 2024 Shepard season.

National Residue Survey Subscription Project

AAL is supporting the development of a national residue survey to assist in understanding, and mitigating, MRL risks across the entire avocado supply chain with a primary focus on reducing the chance of breaches in export markets. We expect the project will be undertaken over the remainder of 2024 and early 2025. Dove tailing this survey project, work is also underway to assist in developing MRL XWHP modelling to assist in improving MRL compliance. This modelling is being trialled by some other industries whereby withholding periods can be established for certain agrichemicals such that their use at certain times prior to harvest will not result in MRL breaches in export markets.

AAL MRL App

AAL has taken an innovative step forward and partnered with the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) to close the gap on time taken to update important MRL threshold for export markets.

To download the MRL App go to the Best Practice Resource HERE. Log in and then you will be automatically directed to the webpage.

This article was produced for the February 2024 edition of the Avo Insider.

Avo Connections & Hort Connections

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Avo Connections, the annual forum for the Australian avocado industry, will be held on Monday 3 June at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf). So put the date in your diaries!  This event takes place at the same venue as Hort Connections (the day before the main Hort Connections program commences). Expert speakers will present on the latest industry news, export and marketing insights, and emerging developments to do with the Australian avocado industry. This event is brought to you by Avocados Australia and is tailored to provide key information of relevance to members of the Australian avocado industry.

A copy of the program and a registration link will be provided to industry soon. For more information contact Hayleigh Dawson, email mdm@avocado.org.au or call 07 3846 6566.

You can get your Early Bird tickets for Hort Connections now. Hort Connections is on 3-5 June at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Early Bird Registration closes on 29 March 2024. For more information and to register go online here: https://hortconnections.com.au/registration/

Growers can apply for funding of up to $1,000 to attend Hort Connections 2024. To apply and find out more about the funding email alexandra.lashchuk@ausveg.com.au.

This article was produced for the February 2024 edition of the Avo Insider.

Making Fresh Produce Domestic Markets FAIR – Have Your Say!

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Have your say about how we can make the domestic markets for fresh produce more efficient, transparent and fair. The National Farmers Federation (NFF) Horticulture Council is calling on all fresh produce growers and suppliers to share their trading experiences and insights in this survey to inform how our markets might work better for everyone. Avocados Australia encourages growers to complete the survey and share your feedback. The response from the avocado industry so far has been very good but we encourage more to contribute.

Currently there is a huge amount of public interest in the grocery supply chain so our industry has a rare opportunity to bring about change. But we need to hear your voice, to build the case the NFF is campaigning for #FreshandFair. Your input is required to support current reviews and enquiries including:

– Treasury Review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct
– Senate Select Committee on Supermarket Prices
– ACCC Inquiry into Supermarkets and Price Gouging
– Treasury Competition Review 
– Queensland Parliament Committee Inquiry into Grocery Price Gouging

The survey will remain open for some time as the number of government reviews and inquiries progress. Please complete the survey now – CLICK HERE.

This article was produced for the February 2024 edition of the Avo Insider.

NFF Hort Council – Taking the issues to Canberra

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Each year the National Farmers Federation Hort Council (NFF HC) holds their “Annual Council Smorgasbord” in Canberra during a Federal Parliamentary sitting whereby council members (Avocados Australia included) have the chance to meet with key ministers, members and advisors to progress action on core Council policy priority areas. This year the priority areas are: 1) Competition Reform, 2) Labour & Workforce Policy, 3) Biosecurity, and 4) Trade & Market Access Policy. John Tyas (Avocados Australia’s CEO), Brad Rodgers (Avocados Australia’s Chair) and Hayleigh Dawson (Avocados Australia’s Market Development Manager) will be attending the Annual Council Smorgasbord so they will have an excellent opportunity to help make key politicians aware of the Hort Council’s (and AAL’s) priorities and expectations.

This year’s Annual Council Smorgasbord takes place from Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 February. On day 1, NFF Hort Council members will have the opportunity to speak directly to the relevant ministers in Parliament House to try and influence policy and decision making in a way that benefits the horticulture industry.

The “Fresh and Fair Roundtable” and Dinner will be happening on Day 2 and will bring together a range of thinkers and opinion leaders with an interest in the optimal functioning of our markets, including supermarkets, independent retailers, wholesalers, consumer advocates, unions, researchers, regulators and policy makers. Some of the speakers taking part include Jolyon Burnett (NFF HC Chair), Chris Leptos (Independent Reviewer for the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct), Andrew Leigh (Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury), Helen McKenzie (Code Arbiter, Woolworths), the Code Arbiter for Coles, and Mick Keogh (ACCC Agriculture Commissioner).  Brad Banducci, Woolworths Group CEO, has been invited to join the roundtable and dinner. It is hoped that he will share the views and positions of the Woolworths Group as they relate to opportunities for competition reform broadly, the current Competition Review initiated by the Federal Government, and other relevant specific pieces of regulation including the Food and Grocery and Horticulture codes of conduct. Some of the other key people invited to the roundtable include: Leah Weckert (Coles CEO), Anna McGrath (Aldi Australia CEO), Doug Jones (Metcash Group CEO), Murray Watt (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), James Patrick (Fresh Markets Australia General Manager), Gail Woods (Fresh Markets, Special Projects and Advisor), Ben Hoodless (International Fresh Produce Association A-NZ, Managing Director), David Inall (Master Grocers Australia CEO), Gina Cass-Gottlieb (ACCC Chair), Alan Fells (Price Gouging Inquiry, Chair), and Ben Moxham (ACTU, Legal and Policy Director).

On Day 2 there will also be a special planning and strategy session that will provide council members with the opportunity to complete an internal review of the Council’s 2023 performance, examine and set strategies and priorities for 2024, and touch on other Council operational matters.

On Day 3, Thursday 29 February, a NFF HC General Meeting will take place.

In all the Annual Council Smorgasbord is expected to help progress action on the four policy areas and details of the outcome of this initiative will be shared in future communications.

This article was produced for the February 2024 edition of the Avo Insider.

Message from the Chair

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Welcome to the first issue of Avo Insider for the year.

This is going to be a busy year for the industry, though the first point I would like to impress upon you all is that the Avocados Australia Board is committed to improving grower returns. This, ultimately, will be how we measure the success of our strategies (see AAL’s Strategic Plan HERE).

I am pleased to see that exports have ramped up and Avocados Australia’s hard work is paying off.  The plan is to increase exports year-on-year and so far, we are seeing this happen. It is great to see that export volumes to Thailand and Japan have increased. Rapid progress is also being made on export volumes to India. In WA packers have so far dispatched a total of 53,383 tonnes of avocados this season. It is a record-breaking season. The forecasted total for this season is 58,696 tonnes so their season is estimated to be around 91% completed. For WA, for the FYTD, 5,936 tonnes have been exported. See the latest Weekly Export Report for the figures for all states (HERE).

I know that we have still much to learn about the Indian market, but we are on track to develop this market and the Avocado market access and trade development project (AV20004) has gained ground. Planning is underway for a new project that will build on its success. Please read the export article in full for the details. An Avocados Australia Launch is planned for Thursday 9 May in Delhi, India. This will be followed by study tours to Mumbai and Bangalore. This presents excellent opportunities to find out more about this market and connect with key stakeholders. To register your interest and find out more email Flora Zhang, Avocados Australia’s Export Development Manager, email her at export@avocado.org.au.

Progress is being made on the market access front and you will find a detailed update in this issue of Avo Insider. If you have a market access question email Richard Magney, Avocados Australia’s Chief of Export – Market Access, at marketaccess@avocado.org.au.

Fruit quality may be a challenge for those of you who were impacted by heavy rains earlier this year, thanks to ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper and other weather events. I wish you all well with orchard recovery and encourage you to tap into the orchard management information and resources on the Best Practice Resource (https://avocado.org.au/bpr/). It has been updated with some useful new resources.

The Avocados Australia board has decided to make provision for a second Avocados Australia director for the North Queensland growing region. Interested North Queensland members can contact me to discuss this opportunity further, email me at b.rodgers@avocado.org.au.

I wish you all well for the year ahead.

All the best,

Brad Rodgers

This article was produced for the February 2024 edition of the Avo Insider.

CEO roundup

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Welcome to the February issue of Avo Insider.

We have well and truly hit the ground running in 2024 and there are lots of activities that will be rolled out aimed to benefit the industry – from Avo Connections to extension and export events, advocacy, and partnership related activities. You will hear more about these activities very soon.

This month our advocacy efforts will intensify as Brad Rodgers, Hayleigh Dawson and I will be attending the National Farmers Federation Hort Council’s (NFF HC’s) “Annual Council Smorgasbord” from Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 February in Canberra during the Federal Parliamentary sitting. We will be joining our fellow council members in meeting with key ministers and their advisors to progress action on four core Council policy priority areas. They are: 1) Competition Reform, 2) Labour & Workforce Policy, 3) Biosecurity, and 4) Trade & Market Access Policy. The program will include a “Fresh and Fair Roundtable” in which the CEO’s of Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, and Metcash have been invited along with other key decision makers such as the Hon. Murray Watt (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry). The whole program of activities is outlined in an article in this issue of the enewsletter. In short, the Annual Council Smorgasbord provides multiple opportunities for making key politicians aware of the Hort Council’s priorities and expectations.

One important topic that will be raised during the NFF HC’s activities in Canberra is the Biosecurity Protection Levy (BPL) that the Australian Government is planning to introduce from 1 July 2024. I recommend that you read AAL’s submission that outlines our position on this (HERE) and the NFF Horticulture Council Submission (HERE). We don’t want the BPL and did not agree with the initial proposed mechanism/design the government wanted to use to calculate the levy. This week we received a letter from the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in response to our submission. The Government is still determined to introduce the BPL however they say they have listened to our feedback and now have “a more equitable design”. The BPL will have rates set on the basis of each industry sector’s proportional share of total gross value of production (GVP). But we see issues with this approach as well. Further engagement with the government is happening and the details of the outcome of this will be provided to you soon in a detailed Grower Notice. In the meantime, you can email your feedback to me at j.tyas@avocado.org.au.

As you know, Avocados Australia has been working on increasing exports to overseas markets. I am happy to report that the industry has been hitting goals! Recent reporting shows that Australian avocado exports for FY24 to 11 February were 13,503 tonnes which was 149 per cent above the same period in 2022/23. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia accounted for 81% of all exports to date in FY24 while others are rapidly increasing share. Japan has recorded 970 tonnes from Western Australia for the 2023/24 season to date. Thailand has recorded 603 tonnes under the new protocol and now exceeds the previous highest annual volume recorded in 2011 before unworkable phytosanitary measures were imposed. Over 230 tonnes have been exported to India in the past 8 weeks. I encourage you to read the export article in full for further details about the project that has had a key part to play in this effort.

Fruit quality should be top of mind for all members of the avocado supply chain. Our product needs to meet consumer expectations if we are going to increase consumption. Retail quality monitoring is an important activity and I encourage you all to track the results on the Best Practice Resource (HERE). Recent results for the total percentage of acceptable fruit (with less than 10% internal defects) for Australian-grown fruit for January was at 83.3%. The average for the past 12 months was 92.7%.

Avo Connections, the annual forum for the Australian avocado industry, will be held on Monday 3 June at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. I encourage you all to put this date in your calendars and plan to attend. Our event takes place at the same venue as Hort Connections (on Day 1). There will be a strong line-up of speakers covering the latest industry news, export and marketing insights, and emerging developments of relevance to the industry. See the Avo Connections article for the details along with information on how to apply for a grant to cover travel costs to Hort Connections.

Effort is currently underway to secure meaningful partnerships with businesses that can add value to your membership. Anne Larard, AAL’s Partnerships Director, is in discussions with a number of potential candidates. I look forward to sharing an update on this with you in the next issue of Avo Insider.

I wish you all well for the year ahead.

This article was produced for the February 2024 edition of the Avo Insider.

New industry and market data coming

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

Avocados Australia has successfully tendered for a new project that builds on the previous project AV20000 (titled: “Avocado Industry Data Capture & Analysis”). The new five-year project, AV22016, will continue to provide the core data and information systems such as Infocado, OrchardInfo, export market reporting, and retail price reporting. The new project will include enhanced export retail price reporting and domestic wholesale price reporting.

The export retail price reporting will document the pricing of avocados in key markets overseas. It will provide a means to measure the success of campaigns by showing pictures and footage of retail displays and sales promotion activities.

Avocados Australia has been working closely with Ausmarket Consultants to improve the accuracy of the wholesale market price reporting system for avocados. There has been a key change in the way that grades are classified to align with contemporary grade standards (for example, premium, class 1, class 2). As part of the new data project (AV22016) Avocados Australia will be purchasing and reporting frequent domestic wholesale market prices.  More information about this will appear in our communications.

 

 

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This article was produced for the November 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

New export development project

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

The Avocado Market Access and Trade Development project (AV20004) finishes in February 2024 and a new project that aims to build on this project is being planned. Avocados Australia has been selected by Hort Innovation as the preferred partner for the new Export Development project.

Hort Innovation has commissioned a review of AV20004 and has commenced a co-design process to develop the new Export Development Project. This is involving extensive industry consultation and, given the rapid expansion of the avocado export sector, it is important that the new project (which will be a five-year contract) is well planned and well-resourced to support further growth. The new Export Development Project will further implement the Avocado Export Strategy 2022-2026.

 

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This article was produced for the November 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.

European horticulture workforce insights

The Avo Insider and its contents are a member-only service of Avocados Australia. You will not see these articles in the media or our other publications.

In October a group of Australian vegetable growers and industry representatives took part in the Australian Trade and Market Access Cooperation (ATMAC) European Study Tour, and they acquired valuable European workforce insights. The study tour aimed to investigate commercial and compliance drivers such as food safety, farm sustainability and ethical farming certification schemes. In this article we share some of the insights gained from the study tour. Some of the schemes the group saw being implemented in farms and processing facilities in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe (EU) included Red Tractor, LEAF, Global G.A.P, BRCGS, SMETA and GRASP.

The UK and EU, like Australia, have faced crippling workforce shortages in recent years. Growers have addressed workforce shortages through various mechanisms, including seasonal labour migration, attracting and retaining local employees, automation, and lean management practices including ‘upsizing’.  Here are some insights from the study tour:

Working hours:

  • Overtime is king in the UK – whilst employers like it, the employees almost “demand it” specifically the large number of migrant workers from Eastern Europe or Central Asia. Unlike Australia, overtime conditions in the UK or Europe do not have the onerous penalty rates which have led to overtime becoming unaffordable here.
  • Patterns of work hours varied although most tended to have 10–12-hour shifts. After working a standard 40-48 hours, most migrant workers were keen to fill any other roles and push their weekly hours up to around 60. Some of the businesses capped the hours any employee could work, and in some instances maximum working hours were capped by supply chain rules (ie. retailer or certification scheme requirements).
  • Migrant workers wanted as many hours as possible so when they returned to their homeland they were ‘cashed-up’. Employee surveys also reflected job satisfaction was directly linked to wages earned.
  • Piece rate is still a popular payment method, with workers guaranteed the minimum wage and piece rate allowing them to earn more.

Seasonal Worker Visa:

  • With food security and farm viability in the UK a real threat due to lack of workers, the Seasonal Worker Visa was introduced as a pilot in 2019 and has continued to grow. Initially there was a visa cap of 30,000, the cap for the number of workers through the program is now 45,000.
  • The use of self-contained caravans (with kitchens and bathrooms) appeared to be the most popular accommodation choice for both employees and employers. The establishment of on-site caravans also diminished the demand for locally sourced accommodation, which employers recognised had the ability to push up demand and rental prices, and cause issues with local residents.
  • Growers have a range of staff to look after migrant workers, supporting them to make their time in the UK feel like a “home away from home”. Employees had the ability to plant gardens and personalise their caravans, while employers provided games, sporting facilities, laundry facilities, local town trips and other activities. Some of the employers established on-farm shops selling traditional migrant groceries and other essential supplies. This was all largely in an effort to encourage migrant workers to return to the same employer year after year.

Modern slavery & unethical treatment of workers:

  • As in Australia, unethical treatment or workers by a small minority of rogue employers does occur and appears to be largely driven by organised crime. Reputable growers finding themselves on the front page of a British tabloid is their worst nightmare, so their commitment to ethical treatment of workers’ schemes and certifications is an unnegotiable priority.

Automation:

  • The transition to automation in recent years has been driven by lack of workforce. In some cases, machinery is no quicker or more efficient than humans, but it performs a job to which there may physically be no one else to fill the role. Machinery is often installed to undertake repetitive roles (ie. putting produce in crates) or where the technology is as good (if not better) than the human thought/judgement process, such as grading product by colour.
  • Switching humans out of non-engaging repetitive roles into roles which require more mental stimulation is also better for the employees’ job satisfaction, as well as their health and wellbeing.

Attracting local workers:

  • Managing the needs of migrant workers is a serious undertaking and some businesses were proactively fostering much stronger connections with their local community to fill worker shortfalls.
  • In some cases, the business has had strong connections to their local town or county for decades, with second or third generations of employees working for the same company. Maintaining a migrant workforce can be a costly exercise, so alternatively the business was weighing up the costs and benefits and making packages more attractive for locals.
  • Some employers spoke about the benefit to local communities of keeping the wages in the local region rather than going to another country. The feasibility of sourcing local labour was very reliant on the business, its operating model and the size and location of the nearby workforce.
  • All the companies visited had a very strong commitment to their local communities through a vast array of programs, projects and initiatives, including land care projects, supporting local sports teams, food donations, and school visits.

Data driven:

  • Collection, analysis and implementation of data across all the businesses visited was a key driver in their innovation, efficiency, satisfaction, quality and success. Data was not only used to make real time decisions, but data trends informed future decisions, and was being used to make pre-emptive decision-making tools.

To find out more about the study tour visit their blog HERE.

 

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This article was produced for the November 2023 edition of the Avo Insider.