Cyclone Narelle has caused significant disruption to banana production in northern Australia, with Darwin among the hardest-hit regions. Joe Manariti of Premier Fresh Australia says the impact on the company's Northern Territory operations has been severe. "Approximately 40% of the fruit-bearing trees have been affected," he explains, describing the damage as "severely disruptive", especially in bananas that were close to harvest.
© Premier Fresh
Despite the scale of the hit, the company has absorbed the loss. "Our team is resilient and committed to the recovery process," he says, pointing to the importance of geographic spread in managing risk. Premier Fresh operates across multiple growing regions and maintains supply relationships throughout north Queensland, allowing it to draw on alternative sources. "We've got the ability to draw on supply from other regions to support the NT community."
That diversification has enabled the business to continue supplying customers across the country. "We sell bananas in every state and territory through various sales channels," Manariti says.
While bananas are one of Australia's most widely consumed fruits, exporting them remains a challenge. "It's a challenging product to export," he says. The issue is not a lack of intent. "We certainly want to," he adds, but logistical and competitive barriers persist. Australian exporters must contend with lower-cost South American supply and the difficulty of transporting a highly perishable product over long distances. They're a very sensitive product, and a lot of thought needs to go into how you make it all work."
© Premier Fresh
As a result, the focus remains firmly on the domestic market, where Premier Fresh is working to expand consumption. "We're constantly looking at ways to drive consumption in the category," Manariti says. That includes ensuring availability as well as exploring innovation in packaging and presentation. "You drive consumption through making sure you've got product available and creating new sales channels."
Those efforts are supported by both internal initiatives and broader industry activity. "We're involved in industry marketing committees, we have our own marketing initiatives, and we are consistently looking at data and research," he says, with the aim of ensuring the category continues to grow.
© Premier Fresh
Even with the disruption caused by weather, Manariti says consumer experience has remained stable. "Quality generally is not impacting consumer experience," he notes, although he stresses that maintaining that standard has required significant effort at the farm level.
Looking ahead, the outlook remains defined by the need to manage ongoing pressures. Weather and input costs have been affected by the conflict in the Middle East, which has, for instance, had an impact on fertiliser availability and, of course, fuel costs. "Every year's got its own set of challenges in bananas," Manariti says. "It's how well we can manage those challenges and maintain value in the category, while also driving consumption."
