Ecoganic pioneers Frank and Dianne Sciacca look to fruitful expansion

The Queensland company that pioneered the red-tipped Ecoganic banana is expanding its range into papayas and mangoes and examining new export markets in Southeast Asia.

Frank and Dianne Sciacca are looking at ways to use their Ecoganic system for other fruit. Picture: Brian Cassey

The Queensland company that pioneered the red-tipped Ecoganic banana is expanding its range into papayas and mangoes and examining new export markets in Southeast Asia, as it looks to grow its local market share ten-fold over the coming years.

Established in 1998 by North Queensland banana farmers Frank and Dianne Sciacca, the Ecoganic system grows bananas slowly and sustainably in natural conditions, free from pesticides.

The bananas are dipped in a bright red food grade wax to help shoppers in Woolworths, Coles, Harris Farm and some boutique supermarkets know they are grown differently from other banana varieties.

Research conducted by Ecoganic has found that while 85 per cent of Australians are aware of red-tip bananas, only 4 per cent know the red wax indicates the Ecoganic farming method was used to grow them.

Dianne Sciacca said while Ecoganic banana sales currently account for less than 1 per cent of the Australian market, that could grow to be as much as 10 per cent in coming years. Six family owned farms in North Queensland are currently producing over 1000 acres of Eco Bananas.

She said her firm had received inquiries in recent months from farmers in Western Australia and South Australia about adopting Ecoganic farming practices.

“As we grow, we’ll take more growers on because our products do attract a higher price. You’re playing at the premium end in a bit of a niche market area,” she said.

“You can work with your growers, because you’re growing a product that they’re going to be able to build for sale that’s for longevity. It’s a grow-together growth strategy.”

Over the past 18 months Bundaberg farmers Clinton and Ben Scott have also worked alongside the Sciaccas to pioneer the use of the Ecoganic system in avocado production and Red Tip avocados are now being sold in the Australian market.

Ms Sciacca said plans were in place to commence avocado exports to the Asia Pacific region in 2023 and that another Queensland avocado grower was interested in starting Ecoganic farming.

It comes as local avocado farmers have been forced to dump their harvests as low prices have prevented them from recouping transport and labour costs amid the ongoing fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. Hass avocado prices in supermarkets have remained below $2 all year.

Ms Sciacca said Ecoganic was now also developing red-tipped papayas, while red-tipped mangoes were about a year from hitting supermarket shelves.

Frank Sciacca said there was no reason the Ecoganic process could not be adopted across many more forms of agriculture.

He said consumers of a red-tipped product could be assured that their purchase was paying for the protection of on-farm ecosystem restoration and off-farm natural assets like reefs, rainforests and waterways, especially the Great Barrier Reef.

“Insects and organisms have been eating other insects and organisms and replenishing carbon in the soil for millions of years. It is about identifying your natural capital, identifying all those natural organisms that are in your area,” he said.

“When you notice some are missing, then it’s about getting them back. It’s about developing soils back to a healthy state where all the organisms are interacting. That means having a balanced farming system where you don’t have to rely on chemicals.”

He said that in recent months the Sciaccas had received significant interest for Ecoganic products from firms in export markets like Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. Ecoganic bananas have already been sold internationally for many years. Specifically, he said, Ecoganic had been approached by a large agriculture company in Indonesia.

“This firm has the biggest pineapple plantations over there, and they also have bananas. They were very, very interested. Over the years, I have had a number of meetings in Malaysia and Indonesia, where most of the agriculture has become threatened by unhealthy soils. Firms where an unhealthy ecosystem was impacting on their business. They were wanting to better understand how to manage farming systems in the future,” he said.

In May last year the Victor Smorgon Group-backed Perfection Fresh Australia purchased Ecoganic’s banana marketing business, known as Pacific Coast Produce Marketing.

Chief executive officer Michael Simonetta said at the time that the Red Tip Ecoganic banana was “an excellent fit with Perfection Fresh and aligns with its focus on driving innovation in fresh produce.”

Perfection Fresh now has the sole licence to market the banana in Australia and wants to market the product internationally.

Looking forward, Dianne Sciacca said Ecoganic was setting up a not-for-profit entity to be able to take philanthropic funds to develop the business.

She and her husband also want their Ecoganic vision to continue on into the next generation of the family and beyond. Daughter Alana has been working with Ecoganic for the past five years.

“She is not on the everyday operational stuff, but purely on product development. She has been pivotal in the work that we’ve been we’ve done with the avocados,” Ms Sciacca said. “Frank’s vision to work towards is that if we are not here, this continues on.”