Vegetable growers allege 'non-binding' agreements with supermarkets create oversupply and waste
ABCIn short: Peak vegetable grower group AUSVEG says a power imbalance between farmers and supermarkets is causing an oversupply of food and millions of tonnes of waste. Peak grower group AUSVEG said "the situation is so dire" that 34 per cent of growers were "considering walking away from their farming businesses". "Growers also feel that many of these rejections are not due to quality, or failure to meet specifications, but because the retailer has overestimated the amount of produce they require," the peak body said. "We assess all produce for eating quality, ripeness, pest damage, appearance, and expected customer home shelf-life, and are deeply committed to balancing this with reducing food waste," the spokesperson said. "The Australian Food and Grocery Code of Conduct must be made mandatory to provide growers with a viable mechanism to report the unconscionable behaviour of retailers without fear of commercial retribution," AUSVEG said.
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