A Twitter Conversation & The Supply Chain

It all begins when @opshoppers posts the following tweet:

WARNING SHOPPERS at IGA! I Just paid $19.95 for a kilo of green grapes!!! It's a travesty! Are farmers watering them with gold plated water?

I seek more information from a farmer in the know:  

@Spinchecker Fiona @opshoppers paid $19.95/kilo for green table grapes in Sydney. How much of that would have actually gone to the grower?

@Spinchecker responds:

@AlisonFairleigh not sure what grapes are worth but stand by for very high f&v prices due to rain and bad weather damaging crops

I ask:

@Spinchecker As a grower, what percent do you get? Do you supply direct to the supermarkets?

@Spinchecker replies:

Contrary to most peoples belief the smaller shops and the central marketing guys take the biggest margins and are the hardest to deal with

@djackmanson joins the conversation:

@Spinchecker That's very interesting. On the news we normally hear how Coles and Woolies are the bad guys.  When you say "central marketing" do you mean govt single desk organisations like the Wheat Board?

@Spinchecker responds with some great information:  (I've joined his tweets together)

@djackmanson sorry for long replies bit busy today. Central marketing system is the Brisbane mkts at rocklea, Sydney markets etc.  These are run by market agents and they are very fussy and hard to deal with.  The way the CMS works is we sell to an agent in the CMS he sells to a greengrocer he sells to you.  So now there are 2 lots of commission or margin stacked on by the time you get you not so fresh fresh stuff from your GG.  Also the f&v that the GG has bought from the CMS was probably in a coldroom there for a week first.  But when we sell to a large chain the produce goes straight from our farm to thier shop. Which is freshest?  We'll have to continue tonight busy busy.

The Humble Sweet Onion

Onions can be used in almost every type of food.  (I simply can't imagine a BBQ without the sweet aroma of onions sizzling on the hot-plate to lure the hungry guest in.)  Even though it is such an integral part of our lives, many of us have never  considered how the onion makes its way from the farm to our forks. Well, take a look at this:

(Courtesy of @Spinchecker)

A field of onions

Ready for harvest

The first onions for the season through the shed.

These are fresh being transferred to wood bins for cureing.

Large onions being graded for food services.

These onions are sliced and diced and end up at Maccas or for catering.

Onions put in 1 tonne bags and off to the processors.

1 tonne bags waiting for shipment to Melbourne

Onion grading: here the onions are graded to size

and quality and put into their orders

These are 20kg bags 1 tonne / pallet

Premium table onions destined for South Australia.