Fruit fight brews over Coles banana ripening work following the opening of a $43m facility in Victoria
Coles’ move to ripen bananas in Victoria instead of SA heightens the risk of fruit fly devastating local crops and jeopardises jobs, business groups fear.
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LOCAL business groups are protesting Coles’ move to ripen bananas in Victoria instead of South Australia, arguing it jeopardises local jobs and could heighten the risk of fruit fly outbreaks.
But Coles insists it is following all protocols, and Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) says no fruit fly problems have been caused by the change.
Coles recently opened a $43m centre in Melbourne, which it says could ripen 350 million pieces of fruit each year. It will be used to ripen fruit from across Australia, before it is sold in South Australian and Victorian supermarkets.
Pick a Local, Pick SA campaign manager Penny Reidy said bananas grown in Queensland were traditionally transported to South Australia in a hard, green state, to reduce the risk of fruit fly.
They are then ripened in nine facilities in SA, including some in the SA Produce Market.
“For me it’s a big concern. If they’re able to do it for bananas, what will be next – avocadoes and mangoes go through the same process in SA as well,” Ms Reidy said.
“We would urge PIRSA to be on top of this and monitoring it very closely because if we were to get a fruit fly outbreak because of this it would be devastating.”
Pick A Local is a campaign run by Market Fresh SA, which promotes the SA Produce Market.
Ms Reidy is concerned about the economic impacts of Coles ripening fruit in Victoria, saying jobs have already been lost at ripening rooms in SA over the past five weeks.
She estimated the recent changes could result in a $3m blow to the state’s economy from lost work and flow on effects in areas such as transport.
Citrus SA CEO Mark Doecke said a transparent process was needed when importing fruit into South Australia.
A Coles spokeswoman said the company was complying with all of PIRSA’s requirements and protocols.
“Our state-of-the-art ripening facility will support banana, avocado and mango growers, providing South Australian and Victorian customers with top-quality fresh fruit all year round,” she said.
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“The facility is 70 per cent more energy efficient than traditional ripening systems, producing fruit that has been ripened as it is needed, improving shelf life for customers and reducing waste.”
The company is still ripening some of its bananas in Adelaide.
The spokeswoman said Coles was a “proud supporter” of the ‘I Choose SA’ campaign and stocked hundreds of South Australian products.
Primary Industries Minister David Basham said all banana shipments were inspected for pests, including fruit fly, upon arrival in SA.
“There are no known cases of fruit fly larvae being found in commercial bananas consigned under these conditions,” he said.