‘Jamie Oliver levy’ leaves farmers fuming

Sue Neales
JUNE 09, 2014
THE AUSTRALIAN
VEGETABLE and fruit growers are outraged at attempts by supermarket giant Woolworths to make farmers who supply it with fresh produce cover the costs of its high-profile marketing campaign featuring British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
Grower organisation Ausveg yesterday claimed that a 40c a box fee that Woolworths was charging its fruit, potato and vegetable farmers was costing bigger suppliers more than $100,000 over the six-week campaign.
Ausveg acting chief executive William Churchill also alleged that for some smaller growers, funding Woolworths’ extravagant “Jamie’s Garden” fresh food campaign made the difference between making a profit and a loss.
Ausveg and independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon both called on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to investigate the behaviour of Woolworths.
Woolworths already takes a mandatory set “marketing” levy of between 3 and 5 per cent from the final price it pays all its growers on top of the 40c-a-crate Jamie Oliver charge. Woolworths countered the attack yesterday by pointing out that it had invited the 200 farmers who supply it with fresh fruit and vegetables under contract to help contribute to the costs of its “Jamie’s Garden” campaign.
Woolworths media spokesman Russell Mahoney said an email had been sent to all of its suppliers before the campaign started three weeks ago, with about half indicating they were happy to pay the additional voluntary 40 cents charge.
Mr Mahoney said the campaign benefitted the whole fruit and vegetable industry.
But Mr Churchill questioned how a corporation that announced a $1.32 billion net profit in February could ethically ask struggling farmers for help in paying for advertising and marketing campaigns that Woolworths had commissioned.
Ausveg produced figures showing that Woolworths pays vegetable growers about $15 for a crate of carrots that costs $14 to produce.
Mr Churchill said that once the mandatory “marketing levy” of 5 per cent, or 75c a crate, was deducted, plus the new 40c Jamie Oliver impost, growers actually lost 15c on every crate of carrots sold to Australia’s biggest supermarket.