Wholesale Markets: The Silent Assassins of Australia's Fresh Produce Industry.

(AUSTRALIA 20.10.24) Food price hikes expected after government authority doubles rent at Melbourne wholesale market (https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2024-10-20/melbourne-wholesale-market-rent-hike-food-prices/104488116).

The Victorian government will double rents at the Melbourne Wholesale Market over the next decade, sparking protests from traders who warn of rising food prices. The Melbourne Market Authority defends the decision, stating the increase is necessary for facility management, while traders claim it threatens their businesses and will burden consumers.

Ah, the Melbourne Wholesale Market - where growers supposedly "sell" their produce. How touching. Except, here’s the truth: yes, some hardworking Australian farmers and growers do make an effort to sell their fresh produce at these markets, but it's mostly the almighty wholesale market operators - who don’t farm a single thing - running the show. They shuffle crates of fruit and veggies like they’re running a back-alley operation, deciding the prices with zero regard for the blood, sweat and tears that went into growing that lettuce or those tomatoes. And guess what? They couldn’t care less about what our farmers need to stay sustainable or profitable.

This isn’t just a Melbourne problem; this underhanded practice happens in every single one of our so-called "wholesale markets" across Australia. Growers send their produce on consignment, hoping to get a fair price, only to be utterly shafted by these operators who pocket a hefty, never-disclosed sales commission. And what’s left for the grower? Maybe enough to cover the fuel it took to ship the produce there - if they’re lucky. Sometimes nothing at all. Below cost? Sure, that happens too. But why would anyone care, as long as the middlemen are stacking their piles of cash higher?

These operators have turned trading into an art form - not the art of supporting farmers and growers, but of squeezing them dry. They're not just moving fresh produce within their own markets (yes, there’s a whole hierarchy of wholesalers - primary, secondary, tertiary and beyond!) but even interstate, bouncing produce between wholesale markets and skimming a hefty cut at every stop. And to top it off, they compete with the very same produce they’ve been consigned to sell. So when farmers try to deal directly with major retailers in their sincerest endevour to achieve a sustainable and profitable price, they’re forced to accept rock-bottom prices, undercut by their own produce being sold elsewhere by these middlemen. A slick system, isn’t it? They've practically mastered the art of stabbing growers in the back - while grinning for the cameras.

And now, we’re supposed to panic about “rising food prices” because their rent is going up? Spare us. This sob story is laughable. Wholesale market operators have already proven they can sell produce at dirt-cheap prices. Case in point: $0.05 carrots. Five cents for carrots? Seriously, how are Australian growers supposed to even cover their costs, let alone make a profit, when the market is flooding consumers with prices that defy logic? Check out this TikTok video as proof: Skippy's Fresh Frootz TikTok. But sure, let’s worry about higher food prices because the market’s rent is going up. Give us a break.

Let’s not ignore the obscene wealth wholesale markets and their operators have accumulated over the years, all at the expense of struggling Australian farmers and growers. Dig into the assets, investments and personal fortunes of these market operators, and what will you uncover? A mountain of wealth, while our farmers and growers - the very people growing our food - are left scraping by, driven out of the industry, or worse, losing hope entirely. The system is rigged to funnel money upwards, leaving the real producers penniless at the bottom.

Australia’s fresh produce supply chain is one of the worst in the world, loaded with unnecessary post-farm gate operators who add no value. They only add layers of cost, confusion and complexity, making it more difficult for our farmers and growers to get their produce from paddock to plate. Where’s the transparency in this broken system? Nowhere. And that’s exactly how the wholesale markets and their operators want it. Heaven forbid a grower actually knows where their produce is going or what price it’s fetching. They’d rather develop overpriced subscription apps to keep the money flowing into their pockets. And no, not on a national level that could actually benefit farmers across the country - each market has its own agenda.

The bottom line? Our Australian wholesale markets thrive on keeping our farmers and growers in the dark, maintaining their stranglehold on the system, and lining their pockets while our farmers and growers scrape by. It’s time to wake up and see this industry for what it is: a farce designed to crush our Australian farmers and growers while making the middlemen rich beyond belief.