SPC cuts could kill-off Victoria’s fruit industry

Growers are contemplating ripping out trees in the wake of a decision by a leading manufacturing company to reduce supply orders.

SPC factory at Shepparton. The company is set to slash intakes of some fruit lines by up to 40 per cent. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Stone fruit growers are reeling following news one of the nation’s most iconic fruit manufacturers will scale back on supply orders this year.

The decision by Shepparton-based company SPC to slash orders of pears and peaches by almost 40 per cent has left some growers contemplating removing trees from orchards.

Cheap imported canned fruit and increased cost of living pressures were cited by SPC as the catalyst for the “difficult decision”.

Max Wright is a stonefruit grower based at Invergordon in Victoria, and supplies pears, peaches and apricots to SPC.

He said the news from the cannery had left some producers “stunned”, after a number of tough years for the industry.

He said SPC were in the position where the company would need to decide whether to affect all producers by reducing total supply by almost 40 per cent, or whether to drop off some growers entirely.

“They’ll have to assess grower by grower,” Mr Wright said.

“I don’t think anyone will be left unaffected”.

Mr Wright grows about 300 tonnes of pears, 800 tonnes of peaches, and 100 tonnes of apricots annually.

He said a 40 per cent reduction in supply to SPC would make an impact at his orchard.

“You can’t push out 40 per cent and be viable,” Mr Wright said.

An SPC spokesperson said cost-of-living pressures were driving consumers to purchase “alternative products imported from countries such as South Africa and China, where the cost of production is lower”.

Mr Wright said supermarkets needed to work harder to make Australian-grown produce accessible to consumers.

“There are a lot of people in Australia who can afford to buy a couple of bucks a kilo more. And they should support Australia,” Mr Wight said.

“The other thing is (supermarkets) do import fruit, for whatever reason, don’t make it so cheap. Don’t push your own home brand above any branded stuff. If you’re going to import fruit, don’t kill us in the process”.

Fruit Growers Victoria grower services manager Michael Crisera said growers had a meeting in late May, where they were informed SPC would be cutting back on canning peaches and pears, with the quote for pears dropping from as much as 11,000 tonnes to 4000 tonnes, and peaches from 16,000 tonnes to 10,000.

“It’s a substantial hit, and every grower is going to feel that,” Mr Crisera said.

“Combined, it’s about 40 per cent of production.”

Mr Crisera said he estimated about 15 per cent of Victoria’s pear production has been removed in the past two-to-three years, for both fresh markets and canning.

Fruit Growers Victoria industry development officer Michael Crisera said cheap imports from nations such as China and South Africa were affecting growers at the supermarket.

Mr Crisera cited cost of living pressures at the checkout, a carry-over of preserved fruit, and pressure from cheap imports from nations such as China and South Africa.

“Domestically, the challenges are that a lot of imported products are a lot cheaper. And consumers are buying more of the cheaper product of imported fruit,” Mr Crisera said.

Tariffs on imported products could be one measure governments could implement to better protect the industry, Mr Crisera said.

“In an ideal world, I’d love the government to look at ways to help and protect growers,” Mr Crisera said.

Growers were “a little bit surprised” in the wake of the news, Mr Crisera said, with many contemplating pulling trees out of the ground.

“Growers are thinking, ‘I can’t turn off a tree for a year’. It’s a conundrum … are we better off just ripping them out or hanging in for the cannery?” Mr Crisera said.