Vegie farmers find cyber sales fruitful

Grant Jones
September 05, 2012
The Daily Telegraph

VEGIE shopping has become a virtual reality of modern life, with Australia’s $108 billion food and grocery sector set to be one of the next boom industries.

While many bricks-and-mortar retailers have had a tough year, an IBISWorld report said online shopping would grow by 10.2 per cent to $10.4 billion in 2012 – about 5 per cent of the total retail sector.

Woolworths, including BIG W, Dan Murphy’s and Cellarmasters, reported a 95 per cent increase in online shopping in the past year and there were 2.3 million downloads of Woolworths apps, including the supermarket shopping app.

“It’s a new era of retailing and Woolworths is responding to this with a range of different options to enable customers to shop at their convenience – be that in store, on their phones or online,” head of Woolworths online Roger Steele said.

But it’s not just the industry giants that are reaping the benefits – Australia Post has launched a pilot program, Farmhouse Direct, which connects producers and farmers with customers via the internet.

Paul Tory, of online butcher The Butcherman, supplies pubs, clubs and restaurants with wholesale beef but said it was his home delivery network that had experienced the strongest growth.

“It’s a small part of our business but it’s still the fastest growing,” he said.

Mother of three Shauna Laverty, of Randwick, is a regular Butcherman customer and said while she still does the traditional shop frequently, grocery staples and meat are now bought online for her family of five: “I prefer not to spend my weekend waiting in line.”

Farmers Andrew and Therese Hearne, from Near River Produce, west of Port Macquarie, said online sales were a lifeline to the farming community.

The north coast couple sell produce at local markets but they also have a virtual farm gate, selling everything from garlic to bottled Thai pumpkin soup to beetroot and ginger vinegar.

“It’s extremely important as it allows us to interact directly with our customers.

“About half of our garlic sales are now via the online portal and our bottled products are around 30 per cent online,” Mr Hearne said.