Left in the Dark: How Australia’s Produce Markets Profit Off ‘Transparency.

Brismark launches Brisbane Markets price reporting app

Brismark has launched the Brisbane Markets Price Report app to enhance price transparency for Queensland fresh produce. This app, funded and developed by Brismark, offers verifiable wholesale pricing data based on actual transaction invoices from Brisbane Markets wholesalers. It responds to grower and regulatory criticism over non-transparent pricing. By centralizing real-time price data on a user-friendly platform, it aims to reduce ambiguity in fresh produce trade while excluding transactions from large retail chains. Subscription plans allow users to track low, high, average, and most-sold prices for up to 50 produce types over six months.

Brisbane Markets has come up with a shiny new pitch for Aussie growers: the “Price Reporting App,” which is allegedly a groundbreaking move for price transparency. But before we start celebrating, let’s examine what’s really going on with this “innovation.” At first glance, this looks more like a classic cash grab dressed up as “progress.” Brismark and Brisbane Markets are promoting this as if they’re champions of transparency, yet the irony is impossible to ignore - they’re charging subscription fees to the very growers who have literally built their business. And all this after previously rejecting a national project aimed at creating genuine transparency back in 2019, a project that would have delivered real, live data to growers - for free.

Let’s dig a little deeper. Back in 2019, a national project was undertaken that should have provided growers with daily, real-time data they need to make informed decisions, daily. This wasn’t just a "nice-to-have"; If successfully implemented and executed, the project would have provided our Australian fresh produce growers, industry representatives and all post-farm gate operators - including wholesale market operators - with a practical, real-time overview of the national fresh produce supply and demand. This would have enabled actionable insights into where produce is being traded, the volumes involved, and at what prices. However, the domestic wholesale markets chose not to participate, withholding their daily actual transaction data - the same data they are now selling back to growers as an exclusive, high-cost commodity. You can read more about the 2019 project here: Horticulture Australia.

So, the hypocrisy here is glaring: the same wholesale markets that refused to participate in a free transparency project have circled back, dusted off the same concept, and now want growers to pay a subscription to access it. They rejected the project then, bided their time, and now they’re back - charging fees for what should have been a basic industry standard.

What’s actually new about this app?

Oh, and don’t even get us started on the hefty price tags attached. Subscriptions vary, with fees depending on the level of data access. No doubt Brisbane Markets will be quick to highlight “average” or “high” prices, but when it comes to the most up-to-date information that growers need to make real decisions? Well, that will cost extra - if it's even offered at all. Even if you do fork out for the data, can we trust the data to be timely, accurate, and actually representative of what’s happening in our domestic market?

Let’s not overlook the $594,500 thrown at Fresh Markets Australia by the Australian government in 2022 with a clear mandate: improve market transparency (Improving market transparency in perishable agricultural goods industries & $1.75m to improve horticulture market transparency). After two years and close to $600K, what have they to show for it? Nothing but silence from Fresh Markets Australia. Apparently, transparency is just another buzzword that sounds good in funding proposals, but when it comes to delivery? We’re still waiting. And who’s accountable for that? Not the wholesalers. They’re still reaping profits, while growers remain in the dark .

You might ask ... Why Is Real-Time Market Data Essential for Australia's Fresh Produce Industry?

Real-time reporting of fresh produce data, including arrivals, departures, volumes, and prices, would greatly improve the efficiency of Australia's fresh produce wholesale markets. This transparency would enable growers, packers, and shippers to optimize production and logistics, minimize waste, and ensure timely supply. Additionally, wholesale markets across the country would gain insights into trade activity in other interstate markets, enhancing their ability to compete effectively and negotiate better deals.

Price transparency and demand forecasting would help stabilize prices and reduce food waste by aligning supply with regional market needs. With access to this data, Australian growers and wholesale market traders could make informed, data-driven business decisions, manage inventory more efficiently, and mitigate risk. It would also aid policymakers in crafting targeted support measures where they are most needed. For consumers, such transparency could foster trust and potentially lead to lower prices. Moreover, data accessibility would drive technological innovation, boost collaboration across the supply chain, and enhance sustainability by optimizing transport and resource use, creating a more balanced and resilient fresh produce market.

Why are our Australian fresh produce growers, who work tirelessly year-round to cultivate the crops that sustain these wholesale markets, being left in the dark about the true state of the markets they supply? Why should they be forced to pay for access to information that they have a rightful claim to - information that could empower them to make informed business decisions in an industry already facing significant challenges?

What our growers rightfully deserve is immediate, free access to reliable, live data - not just from a single wholesale market with a subscription-based application, but a comprehensive platform that encompasses all Australian post-farm gate wholesale markets. Such a platform would deliver a real-time overview of daily market activity, including volumes sold, prices, and the fresh produce leaving these markets. Heaven forbid that each wholesale market opts to develop and monetize its own individual app, requiring costly subscriptions that would make it impossible to compare volume and price data across the board while cluttering our phones with unnecessary applications!

Our Australian growers need information that is impartial, free of commercial interests, actionable, and delivered by independent organizations. Let ABARES (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences) take the lead in providing real-time, transparent data that benefits everyone in the fresh produce industry - not just the post-farm gate operators who have been capitalizing on the current system for years. Brisbane Markets, for instance, isn’t doing anyone any favors; they’re merely selling back to our growers the transparency they originally refused to provide.

So Brisbane Markets, you’ve managed to monetize transparency - but let’s be real. For Aussie growers, this isn’t a solution. It’s another costly burden in a system rigged against them.