Fourth generation banana farmer Dominic Canale is bracing for a tough summer, after a Coles decision to no longer stock locally grown produce in its Mid North Coast stores.
Despite the Coffs Coast being famous for the product, Coles stores from Grafton to Port Macquarie are set to stock bananas sourced from Far North Queensland instead.
“There's bananas grown literally five kilometres from their shops here, and they're getting them from the top of Australia,” said Canale, whose family has farmed at Boambee for 60 years.
NSW Farmers estimates 30 to 40 local farming families will be affected.
Uncertain markets: Currently, most local banana growers send their produce to a wholesaler, who sells it on to the supermarkets to be stocked locally.
If Coles no longer stocks local bananas, Canale said Coffs Coast growers will be forced to sell some of their product directly to the major fruit and vegetable markets in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The markets offer inconsistent returns, Canale said, because “everyone sends there when there's a glut overnight”.
“A couple of semis could hit the markets, and then the price will crash,” he told the Mid North Coaster.
Look to the future: Canale doesn’t think the change will force his family out of the banana game altogether, but said pressure will grow in summer “when everyone has a lot of fruit”.
He expressed concern this will be exacerbated by a potential rule change - currently being assessed by the federal government - which would allow bananas to be imported from the Philippines.
“If that was to happen, I think that'd kill us,” Canale said.
Big blow to business: Paul Shoker, a spokesperson for the Coffs Harbour branch of NSW Farmers, is a second generation banana grower.
He said the decision to end the long-standing local produce arrangement was made by “faceless managers sitting in an office far, far removed from the local situation”.
“It was never about quality. It was never about a lack of quantity. It's just a decision they took,” he said.
“To pull the rug out like that is quite crippling. It means our business model, which is reliant on the supermarkets, is compromised.”
Doesn’t make sense: There are two Coles stores within a ten kilometre radius from Shoker’s farm, just up the road from the iconic Big Banana.
In total, from the farm to the wholesaler to Coles, bananas travel about 20 kilometres by road under the current arrangement.
“It just doesn't make sense to replace that with a product that comes in from over 2000 kilometres away.”
Supermarket’s response: A company spokesperson said the decision is “part of a broader change to Coles’ fresh produce supply model”.
“As part of that change, we are transitioning away from direct-to-store produce arrangements and towards a more consistent operating model across our store network,” they said.
“Coles remains fully committed to supporting Australian farmers and regional communities.”
Coles sources around 20,000 tonnes of blueberries each year from Mid North Coast farms - an arrangement it said will continue.
What’s next?: NSW Farmers is calling for an urgent meeting with Coles and relevant state and federal representatives to “find a pathway forward”.
Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh has echoed calls for the decision to be reversed, saying local farmers could deliver “the best quality bananas to consumers on the Coffs Coast”.
“Come on Coles, reverse the decision and give our locals, local produce,” he said.