Premium Fresh started supplying Woolworths through a third party in 2000. "We went from a relatively small operation to reasonably sized one in a couple of years which was quite a jump," explains Jim Ertler, Managing Director at Premium Fresh. "We went on to start supplying Coles carrots, onions, shallots and echalions.
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"We started to grow the echalions because we wanted to innovate and to differentiate ourselves from others, echalions are a cross between a shallot and an onion developed in France, they are not so popular on the Australian market, but we have been exporting them to France and a bit to the UK. The margins are good and it is steady export income."
Premium Fresh have also grown Chantenay carrots for the last five years which they supply to Coles, but Jim said reaction to these carrots has been a bit mixed. They also grow purple carrots from time to time but demand for these tends to come in phases.
These days Premium Fresh is becoming more export orientated. "We have always exported but now we are really focussing on it and have invested in it, which is paying off as we now have price power as we have alternatives. At home the domestic market is not growing so we need some good solid alternatives."
Premium Fresh export mainly to the Middle East, Belgium, France and the UK and a smaller amount to Asia, they have also exported to Canada a few times. Jim said that the returns are not high but they export very efficiently and exporting products like onions saves on storage costs as they are shipped out immediately, where as when supplying Australian retailers the returns are higher but you have storage costs.
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"It is a good mix in our marketing strategy and it is running along reasonably well. We also have a couple of good free-trade agreements with Japan and Korea which are helping a bit with the export of vegetables," said Jim.
Premier Fresh have no fresh-cut lines at the moment, but they are trialling packs of Chantenay carrots with flavoured butter inside which can be popped into the microwave.
The Tasmanian growing season runs from July to December. "So for six months of the year our income drops by around 25%," explains Jim. "To lengthen the season we have started to grow asparagus, it needed little new investment as we can use existing infrastructure. The asparagus season starts in November and runs on to January so right at the end of that spring period we have full on asparagus."
Asparagus is sometimes seen as a risky crop as it is susceptible to hail and hot temperatures, but due to the climate the risk is very low in Tasmania.
"The Victorian season winds down in December, while we are still going strong at that time and into the first couple of weeks of January. This gives us a month with no competition, we export into Japan and UK. We are looking at expending our asparagus production, it is a case of becoming big enough to be relevant."
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For more information:
Jim ErtlerPremium Fresh Tasmania
Tel: +61 3649 888 88
Email: jim.ertler@premiumfresh.com.au
www.premiumfresh.com.au