Pinata Farms produces pineapples, Honey Gold mangoes, pineapples, strawberries and raspberries on farms across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. Managing director Gavin Scurr has now stated that many farmers have been looking at their bottom line, asking themselves if they want to carry on.
Scurr's comments come as the Fair Work Commission this week set a minimum wage for farm pieceworkers of $25.41 per hour when changes to the Horticulture Award come into effect on April 28. According to him, Pinata's labor costs had risen by 30 per cent in the past two years. He said he was concerned about the long term viability of agricultural businesses as farmers came under increasing pressure.
"They're looking at the challenges and the stress and the hassle they go through continually. They're looking at the stress that they're putting on their staff that they do have — who are going above and beyond — and saying this is just not worth it," Scurr said.
"You know it's costing us [farmers collectively] more to produce than we're getting back for it and it's just all too hard. I suspect there's a lot of farmers sitting down saying, do I really want to keep doing this?"
He praised the transport industry for working during challenging times to keep fresh food moving and on people's tables. He said politicians need to do better and should have learned from the COVID experience overseas to make the supply of rapid antigen tests (RATs) a priority.
"I think what we need is the state and federal governments to actually collaborate, work together instead of trying to score cheap political points against each other," Scurr said.
Source: abc.net.au
