By GREG ANSLEY
CANBERRA - The advice of the British fresh fruit and vegetable giant Fyffes to New Zealand apple growers had a sobering message for Australian rivals.
Fyffes said the 10 million cartons of apples New Zealand sent every year to Britain made it strictly a niche player.
Its view prompted the
managing director of the Hobart-based exporter Tasfresh International, Kevin Baddiley, to ask,"What does that make Australia, with exports of 1 million to 1.5 million cartons of apples spread over some 15 markets?"
With multinationals buying up the world's supermarkets, changes in eating habits and the advance of technology, globalisation is now impacting at orchard level throughout Australasia.
"You need to constantly compare what and how you are doing things today with what and how you did things just five or even three years ago - and if you are still doing them the same, you are probably doing them wrong," Mr Baddiley told Australia's key Outlook commodity forecasting conference in Canberra. "Such is the speed of change."
Mergers and takeovers are changing the face of food exporting. Last year, America's 16 major retailers became six, with the top three doing 36 per cent of the nation's produce business.
The huge conglomerates bulging out of Europe and the US are now turning to specialist suppliers to trim costs and overcome the problems of supply, delivery and quality control.
Giant buying groups are in turn spawning similar multinational giants in the supply of fresh produce.
Fyffes handles more than 220 million cartons of produce a year in Europe. When the New Zealand industry sought its advice it told the Kiwis to use acquisitions and strategic alliances to maximise branding and to build strong relationships with major retailers.
Technology is driving further change. Machines able to assess the internal quality of fruit - as well as its sweetness, hardness and ripeness - have already appeared.
They will allow supermarkets to guarantee the quality of their produce. Pears and avocados, for example, will be sold "ready to eat" or "ready in three days."
The message is that horticulture will soon consist of mega-players, niche players and former players.
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