Last week the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce released their ‘Survey into Global production and operation costs for prices for fruit and vegetables.’ A summary of what they found globally included: rising prices for everything from fertilizer to packaging have added significantly to overall production costs. Labor shortages that existed pre-covid have been exacerbated across the supply chain from farm to retail. Logistics such as trucking have become increasingly expensive and difficult to find, congestion and delays at ports continue to further delay perishable products.
The conflict in Ukraine obviously destabilized markets and disrupted product flow however shipping container costs have also seen massive increases. And to finish the supply chain off, rising energy costs have added to the impact across the supply chain.
Although the report breaks down data for Europe, Canada, USA, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America, the most worrying story is what has been found worldwide. The survey found 57 percent of the global industry was selling at a loss or breaking even with 80 percent of respondents noting that they are now delaying or cancelling investments in their businesses. Interestingly, for the most part, it was noted that the produce industry has not received any governmental support during this time of hardship.
Source: growcom.com.au