To say that Ross Marsolino has had a gutful is probably underselling it.
For more than 40 years, Mr Marsolino has been feeding Aussie families with the eggplants, tomatoes, and zucchinis he grows on his farm in northern Victoria.
But that tradition ended when 2024 came to a close.
Mr Marsolino has stopped growing fruit and vegetables in protest over the rising discrepancy between the price he is paid, and what his produce sells for at the supermarket check-out.
“It’s just too much stress,” Mr Marsolino told ABC Radio Melbourne Mornings.
“Supermarkets don’t want to pay you enough money for what they’re actually selling the product for.
“It’s just too hard to run a business and employ 150 people.”
He said a product he was paid $1.60 per kilogram for retails at $4.99 per kilogram on the shelf.
As a result, he has left the industry and now has a staff of just two growing lucerne pasture for horse feed.
Farmers say there are huge gaps in the price they are paid for produce and what it sells for at superamarkets. (ABC Western Qld: Hannah Walsh)
A complex deal
Stories like Mr Marsolino’s are nothing new.
The discrepancy between farmgate and wholesale or supermarket prices was a focus in the first two weeks of the ACCC’s supermarket inquiry last November.
At the same time, wholesale prices are tipped to keep increasing at one of Melbourne’s biggest markets.
Assistant Minister for Competition, Andrew Leigh, said although “many farmers still feel under pressure”, the new mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, which passed parliament on the final sitting day of the year, would help address the power imbalance.
“Penalties [for supermarkets], which is the greater of $10 million, three times the value of the benefit [gained by undercutting farmers], or 10 per cent of turnover,” he said.
“For multi-billion-dollar firms that means massive penalties.
“There hasn’t been a government in my lifetime that has done more to stand up for farmers against supermarkets.
“We understand that supermarkets have a lot of power; that power can be wielded against consumers and suppliers.”
The new code comes into effect in April.
Assistant Minister for Competition, Andrew Leigh. (ABC: Matt Roberts)
Nationals leader and shadow agriculture minister, David Littleproud, said with 34 per cent of vegetable growers considering leaving the industry in the next 12 months, the government needed to do more.
“What we need is fair transparent prices from the farm gate to your plate. Not fixed prices but fair ones,” he said.
“The horticulture sector is the most exposed to the big supermarkets as they control nearly 74 per cent of the grocery market -— they’ve abused that power.”
Mr Littleproud said divestiture powers, greater penalties, and a supermarket commissioner were required to change the culture of the major supermarkets.
“It’s a confidential conduit for farmers to come forward because we’ve heard at inquiry after inquiry that they fear retribution,” he said.
“But if they come forward to a commissioner … they can then either try and conciliate with the supermarket if they wish to or escalate it to the ACCC.”
Nationals leader and shadow agriculture minister, David Littleproud. (ABC News: Mick Tsikas)
Both Coles and Woolworths said Mr Marsolino was not and had never been a supplier to their companies.
“We work with all our fresh produce suppliers to set clear agreements on volume ahead of the season and collaborate closely with them to ensure a fair and competitive market price,” a Coles spokesperson said.
“It should be noted that the retail price also includes additional costs incurred such as transport and distribution across the country, along with operational costs like energy, insurance, labour, and leasing.”
