Fresh Source Spring 2016

ISSUE 56

SPRING 2016

Your source of fresh information for the fruit and vegetable industry Print post approved pp 100001181

*

#

+

+

WE CAN HELP YOU WITH GREAT DRIVEAWAY DEALS! New Toyota HiLux

New Toyota Fortuner

New Sportage

New Triton

New Pajero Sport

New Navara

New Colorado

New Ranger

New & Used Enquiries Service Bookings

$

New Picanto

New Everest

Finance Packages Small Business Leasing & Fleet Options

Call Ian Blaikie 3000 9736 Brisbane Markets Co-ordinator motorama.com.au/brisbane-markets

+

CEO comment BRISMARK MARKS 75 YEARS It’s with great pleasure that this edition of Fresh Source magazine marks the 75th anniversary of Brismark, which has had such an important history of service for and representation of the Brisbane Produce Market Wholesalers.

The organisation is a leader in its field. It has shown us again the importance of industry having a voice in what is a sometimes controversial and competitive environment in Australia’s dynamic horticulture arena.

You will see stories and photos throughout this edition celebrating the organisation, including a 12 page feature from page 21.

BML’S PROFITABLE YEAR Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) announced its results for the 2015/16 financial year with a net profit after tax of $16.66 million.

It was an eventful year with the completion of a number of site development projects, investment in industry ownership of Perth’s Central Market and a fight to maintain industry ownership of BML.

BML’s total net asset has grown by 20.7% to $294.21 million, and net assets have grown by 6.6%.

NEW BOARD DIRECTOR APPOINTED Brisbane Markets Limited has welcomed a new Director to its Board with Evonne Collier appointed to become one of the four industry positions, appointed

by Brismark.

Read more about her appointment on page 8.

2016 MANGO KING CROWNING The first symbolic tray of mangoes has been auctioned at another nail biting Brisbane Produce Market Charity Auction held on the trading floor in early October.

Long-time Buyer and personality George Manettas, of Earth Markets Burleigh, has been crowned the 2016 king, supported by his wife, Tsambica, who encouraged the bidding to help charity.

Take a look at the story on page 7.

CODE DEBATE CONTINUES The Horticulture Code of Conduct continues to spurn debate as grower groups throughout Australia push for 13 recommendations of a recent Code review to be adopted without adequate industry consultation.

Now is the time to set right the issues surrounding the existing unworkable Code that was rushed through in 2007 to the detriment of both the wholesaling and grower sectors.

Turn to pages 12 and 13 to read more about the situation and Australia’s Wholesaler’s concerns.

Andrew Young, Chief Executive Officer, BML and Brismark

COLLAGE PHOTOS: * B rismark’s 2015/16 Board. Absent: Craig Spencer, Hamish Montague and Noel Greenhalgh. + Photos courtesy of Doug Staples. # Photo courtesy of Max Norris.

BRISBANE MARKETS LIMITED ABN 39 064 983 017 PO Box 80, Brisbane Markets®, Rocklea, Queensland 4106 e: admin@brisbanemarkets.com.au w: www.brisbanemarkets.com.au ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES The Editor, Brisbane Markets Limited p: 07 3915 4200 or 1800 631 002 e: admin@brisbanemarkets.com.au DESIGN Effigy p: 07 3040 4343 | PRINT Buckner Printing p: 07 3865 9677

Fresh Source is the magazine of Brisbane Markets Limited. New editions of the magazine are printed quarterly. Advertising and editorial inquiries are welcome and media outlets are invited to use material with or without acknowledgement. Fresh Source is printed on Australian made recycled stock.

fresh source Spring 2016

5

updates GO AUSSIE SPEARS! PROMOTION Spring time is asparagus time in Australia with semi-trailers of the versatile green spears making their way into the Brisbane Produce Market.

The Australian Asparagus Council has launched its “Go Aussie Spears!” promotion and anticipates an excellent season that will run into March of next year.

However, it was a slow start after plenty of rain, welcomed by Growers allowing better management of the fast growing crop which grows up to 1-2cm an hour in ideal conditions.

Take a look at the updated website at www.asparagus.com.au for recipe tips, social media hash tags and even some tips on selecting and storing it for the best eating.

From left, BML’s Dick Baptist and The Fruitologists’ Con Leontsinis pose with a photo of them taken in the 1970s.

PHOTO FLASHBACK FOR MARKET MEN Two fresh faced lads in a photo have got together more than 40 years later to prove some of those stories from yester year just might be true – they have the photo to prove it!

Brisbane Markets Limited’s Market Officer Richard (Dick) Baptist, a former Queensland Government Market Reporter, and Wholesaler Con Leontsinis, of The Fruitologist, were snapped in the 1970s.

From left, growers Johnny and John Ventura ready their new season asparagus.

The photo sits pride of place in the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room with Mr Baptist’s now donated Market Reporter’s case.

FLASH BACK TO A CELEBRATORY HAT If you love a good hat, you might be sorry you missed out on this rather charming polystyrene offering that was produced for Brismark’s 50th year celebrations, 25 years ago.

6

fresh source Spring 2016

It was donated by Ken Madden, formerly of JH Leavy.

Check out the 12 page feature from page 21 taking a look at the past 75 years of Brismark.

Flashing back to a hat giveaway from 1991 for Brismark’s 50 year celebrations.

CONTENTS 6 Fresh Updates 6

Go Aussie Spears! promotion

6

Flash back to a celebratory hat

6

Photo flashback for Market men

7

All hail the new King George

7

Walking South America in four weeks

8 Fresh Markets 8

New director for BML Board

8

You might have to butt out

8

Licence Plate Recognition introduced

9

Our Alana fourth in the world

9

Parking restrictions introduced

10

Teeing off for charity

10

Service station construction under way

10

Exporters showcase the Markets

11

Sprucing up the mezzanines

11

BML finalist in Safe Work awards

11

Networking with the help of Media Club

11

2015/16 financial year highlights

12 Feature: Horticulture Code of Conduct 14 Feature: Gala Dinner Newly crowned 2016 Brisbane Produce Market Mango King George Manettas, of Earth Markets Burleigh

ALL HAIL THE NEW KING GEORGE Earth Markets’ George Manettas has been crowned the 2016 Mango King after a heart pumping bidding war for the symbolic first tray of mangoes at the Brisbane Produce Market.

18 Feature: Forklift operator of the year 21 Feature: Brismark’s 75th anniversary 34 Fresh Retailing 34

Foodie journalists tour the trading floor

34

Top 10 fruit and veg online

34

YLFS competition a winner

35

Shoppers making on-the-spot decisions

35

When your body is vegie fresh

35

Your Local Fruit Shop is AOK ready

36 Feature: Carter and Spencer – 80 years

The active Your Local Fruit Shop retailer program participant paid $22,000 for the coveted tray of 16 golden fruits, all kensington prides from Sklorios Produce, in Berry Springs, Northern Territory.

38 Fresh Industry

Mr Menettas was jubilant after taking out the winning bid, calling the high price tag “a bargain” when it came to helping charity.

38

Rainy Bowen visit a time to celebrate

38

Bowen Gumlu Region’s statistics

39

Celebrations with a night under the stars

40

Growing Leaders back in 2017

40

Backpacker tax compromise welcomed

40

Joint industry conference historic

40

New CEO for apples and pears

41

Onion growers visit the market

41

Vegetable expo the first of many

41

Pineapples head south

41

Aussie melons safe and tasty

42

Don’t let short measure short change you

42

Tips for measuring prepackaged fruit and vegetables

WALKING SOUTH AMERICA IN FOUR WEEKS

42

Finding out more

43

When to expect a visit

43

Your business, your responsibility

Teams of four from Brisbane Markets’® community are walking, running, cycling and swimming through South America throughout October without ever leaving Australia.

44

Credit services changed the way we did business

45

Efficient solutions for fresh produce cooling

46

Getting immediate gains

47

Hort diploma course on offer

47

Fresh produce testing course

He said that during the daily drive to the Brisbane Produce Market to buy for his Burleigh store that he discussed with his wife, Tsambica, about placing a bid and together they plotted a figure they could bid up to.

The auction, which has become a quintessential fundraising event for Queensland, raised more than $30,000 for Diabetes Queensland and Life Education Queensland.

How? October is Safety Month and Brismark has put out a 10,000 steps a day health challenge to its community that will equate to the teams of four walking the distance of Peru, Chile, Argentina and into Brazil.

The 2015 Challenge set a great target with winners, “Nice Melons” showing 1,873,002 on their pedometers, an average of 16,723 steps a day.

44 Fresh Business

fresh source Spring 2016

7

markets NEW DIRECTOR FOR BML BOARD The Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) Board has appointed a new Director, Evonne Collier, to its team filling a vacancy in one of its four industry positions, appointed by Brismark.

range of industries in both blue-chip and multi-national organisations.

Ms Collier is an experienced Director with skills and expertise in the area of branding and communications.

“The Board saw the addition of a Director with expertise in these areas as desirable given the strategic priorities of the company.”

BML Chairman Tony Joseph welcomed Ms Collier, calling her an agile and highly experienced leader who combined current board and governance experience with a successful career in strategic marketing and commercial leadership roles across a diverse

“Ms Collier will add a significant depth of knowledge to the Board in relation to her branding, communications and strategic marketing experience,” Mr Joseph said.

Ms Collier holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Business and has lectured at the Queensland University of Technology’s Graduate School of Business. She is a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Brisbane Markets Limited Board Director Evonne Collier

For a full list and background of BML’s eight directors, visit www.brisbanemarkets.com.au.

LICENCE PLATE RECOGNITION INTRODUCED It just got a whole lot easier for cars entering the Brisbane Markets® if the driver holds a Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) access card.

Entering at any of the Brisbane Markets® boom gates has got easier for access holders driving their cars.

Brisbane Markets® has introduced Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) Technology with

installation of the new system at each of the boom gated entrances.

Access card holders simply register their car licence plate with BML and driving in and out is as easy as driving up to the boom gate and waiting for it to rise.

YOU MIGHT HAVE TO BUTT OUT Just be careful where you smoke or you may have to butt out to avoid fines when you’re on the 77ha Brisbane Markets® site.

8

fresh source Spring 2016

BML has widened its no smoking zones and become tougher with new Queensland legislation taking effect from 1 September so that there is no puffing within five metres of a building entrance.

The ‘No smoking’ area has been extended in and around the Brisbane Produce Market with Buildings D and C loading docks and the eastern side of Building A included.

OUR ALANA FOURTH IN THE WORLD The Brisbane Markets® community was one of the first to congratulate women’s pole vaulter Alana Boyd as she finished fourth in her final at the Rio Olympics.

The athlete is Brisbane Produce Market’s Healthy Eating Ambassador. She had a hopeful fan base watching from the Brisbane Markets® with Ms Boyd having stepped into the role to promote the Your Local Fruit Shop (YLFS) retailer program earlier this year.

Ms Boyd said she had mixed emotions after jumping her personal best and then gave it her all but was pipped out of third place into fourth.

“I haven’t walked away from the Games with a medal but I have walked away so proud of what I have done at Rio and this past year,” Ms Boyd said.

She thanked those who sent her messages of support.

Ms Boyd will be feature in a number of YLFS campaigns in 2017.

Brisbane Markets® Health Eating Ambassador and dual Olympic pole vaulter Alana Boyd gave it her all at the 2016 Rio Olympics, fueled by fresh fruit and vegetables, which are essential to an athlete’s diet. Ms Boyd bettered her own Australian pole vault record in Rio to jump 4.8m.

PARKING RESTRICTIONS INTRODUCED New parking rules around Brisbane Markets® Commercial Centre has cleared the way for more vehicles to pop in and out of the car parks.

Brisbane Markets Limited appointed parking management firm PriPark with its car park monitoring service assisting Commercial Centre Tenants to free up many of spaces taken by those who left their vehicles for long periods in peak times.

New time zones apply to the parking areas between 6am and noon daily and include: • 1-hour and 1/2 hour parking available at the front of the Commercial Centre (strip of shops on Sherwood Road).

• 3-hour parking at the rear of the Commercial Centre.

• 2-hour parking is provided around Building G2 (recently refurbished retail centre, also on Sherwood Road).

Those overstaying the free parking times will receive a standard parking fee invoice.

New signage has appeared around Brisbane Markets® Commercial Centre, warning of recently introduced parking restrictions.

fresh source Spring 2016

9

markets

TEEING OFF FOR CHARITY Many of the Brisbane Markets® community are mad golfers so the chance to pull out the golf clubs for charity has set smiles widening.

The Brisbane Produce Market Charity Golf Day is to be played on 4 November, at the Brisbane Golf Club, with all funds raised aiding Diabetes Queensland.

It’s an annual charity event where the golfers head out for a four player ambrose in motorised carts, share some tales, hit some balls and have plenty of catering along the way.

Last registrations must be in by 21 October by emailing Peter Collins on peter@brisbanegolfclub.com.au or phoning Phil Thomas on 0407 437374, Sam Haddad on 0407 126335, Mark Moore on 0418 784 249 or Mark Clark on 0407 781 792.

Golfing enthusiast Mark Moore, of M & D Vegetable Specialists, gets some golfing practice in before the Brisbane Produce Market Charity Golf Day.

SERVICE STATION CONSTRUCTION UNDER WAY Construction has begun to build a new Puma Energy Service station on Sherwood Road, Rocklea, where a 50-year-old service station once stood.

The finished product will further complement the recently completed Building G2 refurbishment, beside the new facility, and transform the presentation of the Brisbane Markets® site once completed.

Construction firm, Evans Built, brought in the cranes in August and the building is taking shape quickly, including a large amount of excavation and the arrival of underground tanks in September.

Work has moved on to the construction of a retail store, canopy and will be completed with landscaping.

Brisbane Markets Limited negotiated a 30-year lease with Puma Energy for the facility, which should be completed by December of this year.

There will be some minor pedestrian traffic changes in the area until work is completed.

An artist’s impression of the proposed Puma Energy service station for Sherwood Road.

EXPORTERS SHOWCASE THE MARKETS Exporters have showcased the strength and accessibility of Queensland produce through the Brisbane Markets® with a tour conducted for Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department officials.

Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) assisted the Australian Horticulture Export Association (AHEA) and Trade & Investment Queensland to tour the Brisbane Produce Market 10

fresh source Spring 2016

and offered its Fresh Centre training facilities for a seminar.

The 30 Hong Kong decision makers were given a better understanding of how the horticulture industry operates in Queensland, and particularly how the Central Market system operates in Brisbane.

Brisbane Markets® regularly assists industry groups with tours and workshop support to educate key decision makers on understanding the fresh produce industry.

AHEA CEO Dominic Jenkin works with an interpreter during an information seminar with Hong Kong officials.

2015/16 FINANCIAL YEAR HIGHLIGHTS Buildings B and C will have their staircases spruced up with modesty boards similar to those in Buildings A and D.

SPRUCING UP THE MEZZANINES Brisbane Produce Market’s Buildings B and C are having their mezzanine walkways spruced up.

Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) has had another successful financial year ended 30 June 2016 recording a net profit after tax of $16.66 million.

The result includes an upward revaluation of investment properties of $8.14 million after tax, compared with a reduction of $0.13 million in the previous financial year.

Total assets have grown by 20.7% to $294.21 million, and net assets have grown by 6.6%.

Shareholders received a 20% increase in the dividend payment to 15 cents per share, fully franked.

Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) is continuing its refurbishment works to update the 52-year-old buildings following on from similar works in Buildings A and D earlier this year.

The works include the installation of modesty boards to the balustrades and staircases; painting of the balustrades, the new panels and external office doors; and the installation of LED lighting.

The project will also involve the refurbishment of several toilets, which will include the installation of instantaneous electric hot water systems to provide hot water to basins.

Works include new sinks, fittings, tiles, LED lighting, painting and the application of new epoxy floors.

An aerial view of the 77ha Brisbane Markets® at Rocklea.

BML FINALIST IN NETWORKING SAFE WORK AWARDS WITH THE HELP Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) has been OF MEDIA CLUB announced as a finalist in the Queensland Safe Work and Return to Work Awards 2016.

More than 140 organisations and individuals submitted entries to the awards which required entrants to demonstrate innovation, leadership and commitment to making Queensland workplaces healthier and safer.

Brisbane Markets® has branched out its networking base and become a sponsor of The Queensland Media Club, allowing executives to get up close and personal with the State’s movers and shakers.

BML is one of three finalists in “Category 6 – Most significant improvement to work health and safety performance” for its proactive efforts to manage forklift safety within the Markets.

The sponsorship was kicked off in September with a sit down lunch with Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, who gave her vision for infrastructure and planning within the state, and received a grilling from the journalists.

Safety Ambassador, Shane Webcke, will announce the winners at the Safe Work and Return to Work Awards Ceremony on 18 October at the Royal International Convention Centre, Brisbane showgrounds, Bowen Hills.

Brisbane Markets Limited has an important role to further the industry with the sponsorship seen as an important step to keeping connected with decision makers.

DID YOU KNOW?

Brisbane Markets® is heavily involved in Safe Work Month 2016 with a full month of onsite safety reminders and incentives for the 4,000 people who do business on the site daily planned for the month of October.

fresh source Spring 2016

11

Horticulture Code of Conduct HORT CODE MEDIA – WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT Wholesalers from across Australia are under attack from grower groups, fueled over a piece of legislation that most politicians have pushed deep into their in-trays, labelling it “too hot to handle”.

The Horticulture Code of Conduct has been a hot topic for more than a decade but the issue has heated up over the past three months.

WHAT IS IT? The Code was introduced in March 2007. It was to regulate trade in horticulture produce between Growers and traders of fresh vegetables, to prescribe how Growers and Traders (Wholesalers) could do business and to provide a dispute resolution process.

WHY IS THE INDUSTRY STIRRING?

The current Code has a sunset clause of April 2017. It was reviewed in 2016 by a two person Review Panel, resulting in 13 recommendations. The Review Panel did not include a person with detailed knowledge of wholesaling, meaning that a number of the conclusions drawn and recommendations made were seriously flawed.

This year’s Federal election is over, and as the politicians settle into their portfolios, various industry sectors with ulterior motives attacked Wholesalers, one of the key links in the fresh produce supply chain.

Distressingly, the groups are using the media to lobby politicians without who do not understand horticulture issues or the power games to change the legislation without a proper consultation process, to the detriment of the supply chain and the industry as a whole.

READY TO WORK ON THE ISSUES The fresh produce wholesaling sector has advised the Federal Government that it remains ready and willing to continue discussions to find an equitable and viable solution for all parties surrounding the Horticulture Code of Conduct.

Fresh Markets Australia said it believed it was essential the review process be resumed as soon as possible to prevent delays and indecision undermining Wholesaler confidence in the process.

TIME TO SET IT RIGHT

12

Fresh Markets Australia Director, Andrew Young, says the existing, unworkable Horticulture Code of Conduct resulted from a government too keen to deliver an election promise.

“Ultimately, the Code was introduced without the support or sign-off by Fresh Markets Australia, the industry body representing the Wholesaling sector, because it was clear that the Code was not workable and would not be supported by the vast majority of Growers and Traders alike,” Mr Young said.

Mr Young said that growing sector representatives focused too much on a policy “win” rather than having workable regulations, while Federal Government employees who drafted the Code had little knowledge of how the industry operated.

“History should not be allowed to repeat itself.

fresh source Spring 2016

“The Code must be workable and allow Growers and Traders to establish flexible, commercial relationships, with a guiding principal that the Terms of Trade should be flexible, workable and documented,” he said.

PROPER CONSULTATION IS IMPORTANT Australia’s wholesaling sector is calling for proper consultation on the 13 recommendations handed down by the Horticulture Code of Conduct Review Panel.

Fresh Markets Australia (FMA) says it broadly supports the majority of the Independent Review Panel’s 13 recommendations concerning the Code (which do not involve the introduction of real-time pricing at Central Markets as falsely claimed by Growcom and some other rural lobby groups).

However, the recommendations as they exist contain a number of serious shortcomings and will not, taken as a whole, deliver a fair, commercial and workable outcome.

FMA strongly opposes three recommendations that seek to increase the prescriptive nature of the Code, introduce monetary penalties, and increase the involvement of the ACCC in undertaking random audits.

“The Horticulture Code is not intended to substitute good business behaviours, conduct and practices, but rather to support these disciplines through simple, but effective regulation” Horticulture Code of Conduct Review Panel

REAL-TIME PRICING REAL-TIME IMPRACTICALITY Fruit and vegetable producers have been warned to dismiss Growcom’s snake oil claims that real-time price reporting is a cure for the industry’s ills.

Fresh Markets Australia (FMA) Executive Director Andrew Young said he was disappointed that Growcom had made claims, which inferred that real-time price reporting was a recommendation of the Independent Review of the Horticulture Code of Conduct to the Government.

“Real-time price reporting is clearly not — and never has been — one of the Independent Review Panel’s 13 recommendations to the Federal Government and it is improper for Growcom to try and claim otherwise,” Mr Young said.

“Real-time price reporting is a Growcom thought bubble, an impractical and expensive folly that is being doggedly pursued by them with no justification given as to how it would benefit Growers and who would pay for it.

“Where other industries are trying to reduce costs to remain viable, this would be another financial impost detrimental to the future of the entire industry.”

OPPOSING MONETARY PENALTIES Fresh Markets Australia (FMA) has challenged the industry as to why monetary penalties should be introduced for breaches of the Horticulture Code of Conduct.

FMA says there are more than 12 million transactions between Growers and Central Market based traders occurring across Australia annually, but a very low incidence of reported complaints.

Nearly a decade since the Horticulture Code of Conduct was introduced, there is now a demonstrated lack of any systemic issues or concerns.

In such an environment, there is no basis for the introduction of monetary penalties into the Code.

Further, with no monetary penalties applying under the voluntary Retail and Grocery Industry Code of Conduct, it would clearly be anti-competitive to apply penalties under one supply chain, and non-apply under another.

Such a move would discriminate against Traders and the Growers who supply them.

GROWERS AND WHOLESALERS SHARE RESPONSIBILITY Documented terms of trade are the responsibility of both Growers and Wholesalers.

Fresh Markets Australia (FMA) Executive Director Andrew Young said that getting Growers and Wholesalers to comply with this requirement has been an ongoing issue since the Horticulture Code of Conduct was introduced in 2007.

“The task of promoting compliance has been difficult because of the unworkable requirements of the Code,” Mr Young said.

“On that basis, it is perhaps very unfair for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to pursue compliance requirements against a Trader (Wholesaler), if they are not going to seek those same undertakings from Grower.”

Mr Young said that the problem with the existing anti-competitive and one-sided Code of Conduct is that without a commercial focus and without the responsibilities applying equally to both sides of the transaction, it is unworkable.

FMA is seeking amendments to the current Code so as to promote better business practices, and make it more commercial and less prescriptive.

fresh source Spring 2016

13

BRISBANE MARKETS® COMMUNITY CELEBRATES Queensland’s fresh food wholesaling sector has given Brismark a rousing 75th anniversary celebration and made some money for charity with the staging of the 2016 Brisbane Produce Market Gala Dinner.

The Brisbane Markets® community let its hair down on a night packed with top class entertainment as 500 Market Wholesalers, sponsors and friends turned out to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

It was the first time for decades that the event was staged in winter but there was plenty to warm up the audience with musical comedians Tripod, unusualist (shadow puppet, ventriloquist and comedian) Raymond Crowe, popular dance band Magic Carpet Ride and the annual Brisbane Markets® Fun in the Markets DVD. It was also an opportunity to raise some extra money for Diabetes Queensland with a silent auction and raffle held supporting the Brisbane Markets® platinum charity partner.

The event was also a big occasion for Brisbane Markets® Tenant Carter & Spencer Group which marked its 80 year anniversary.

This year’s gala dinner, hosted by Brisbane Markets Limited and Brismark, was emceed by Brisbane radio personalities Donna Lynch and Loretta Ryan.

Radio hosts and joint masters of ceremony Donna Lynch (left) and Loretta Ryan ham it up on stage.

TRIPOD HEADLINES WITH LAUGHS Musical comedians Tripod stuck a note with the Brisbane Produce Market Gala Dinner audience with their performance juggling music, narrative and some great one liners to produce a lot of laughs.

The trio flew from Victoria for their performance, giving the Markets community a sample of some of their best work leading into their national tour.

The Tripod team members, better known as Scod (Scott Edgar), Gatesy (Steven Gates) and Yonny (Simon Hall) produced a range of styles, from lilting ballads to up-tempo tunes, jazz, rock and country numbers.

14

fresh source Spring 2016

Comedic musicians Tripod: from left, Simon Hall, Steven Gates and Scott Edgar.

FROM SHOCK, LAUGHTER THROUGH TO TEARS Unusualist Raymond Crowe took the Brisbane Produce Market’s Gala Dinner audience from eye brow raising, to laughter, to shock and then to tears in one of the most diverse performances seen on stage.

An unusualist is someone who is an illusionist, master of intricate hand shadow puppets, mime, physical comedian and a ventriloquist.

BEHIND THE SCENES There is always plenty going on between the acts and fine food at a Brisbane Produce Market Gala Dinner with this year’s Diabetes Queensland silent auction being more silent than usual, and a photo booth even rowdier.

Diabetes Queensland brought along a range of signed memorabilia for the crowd to snap up but used a phone bidding system, with updates on bids appearing on the big screens throughout the night.

Meanwhile, there were oversized sunglasses, hats and feather boas being tried on and swapped with Policeman’s hats at a photo booth over peals of laughter.

Many know the performer for his hand shadow piece performed to the Louis Armstrong classic “What a Wonderful World”, a YouTube sensation that has now been seen by an estimated 200 million people.

The Perfection Fresh team pose in the photo booth.

Bowen Gumlu Gowers Association president Carl Walker (left) was pulled from the crowd to hold a screen, for Illusionist Raymond Crowe used to recreate his Louis Armstrong shadow puppetry piece.

Guests photograph pieces of memorabilia they planned to bid on using a phone app at the Diabetes Queensland silent auction display.

fresh source Spring 2016

15

CARTER & SPENCER GROUP COMES OF AGE

M A J O R

S P O N S O R S

While the Brisbane Markets® community toasted Brismark for its 75th anniversary, the Carter & Spencer Group also received a mention for reaching its 80th year with the Brisbane Markets®.

Take a look at the Brismark feature from pages 21-32 and learn more about the Carter & Spencer Group’s celebrations on pages 36 and 37.

S P O N S O R S

Carter & Spencer Group team members enjoy an evening of celebration as the business clocks up 80 years since its establishment.

S U P P O R T E R S

16

fresh source Spring 2016

SUEZ and Brisbane Markets are putting your waste to good use We provide smart and reliable solutions to collect recover and recycle paper and cardboard into valuable resources

For information on best practise waste management solutions, contact SUEZ today

01161 Brisbane Markets Bin Ad_Fresh Source Mag Advert.indd 1

15/09/2015 5:32 pm

Forklift Operator of the Year SAFEST FORKLIFT OPERATOR ON-SITE GNL Produce forklift operator, Jason Thompson, has blitzed the field to take out the coveted 2016 Brisbane Markets® Forklift Operator of the Year title.

Mr Thompson was one of 10 finalists who competed in the grand final on the Brisbane Produce Market trading floor in August, with competitors negotiating a challenging practical course designed to test their forklift operating skills in a controlled environment.

About the competition The competition is an initiative of the Brisbane Markets® and was held in association with Toyota Material Handling to recognise the positive contributions to safety that forklift operators make in their daily activities.

In the four weeks leading up to the grand final, Work Health and Safety Queensland inspectors worked with Brisbane Markets Limited safety officials to observe and score the nominated forklift operators during busy mornings of trade to arrive at the 10 finalists.

Experience aplenty Mr Thompson has been a forklift operator for 14 years and said he had plenty of opportunity to hone his skills at the Brisbane Markets®.

There are more than 400 registered forklifts onsite, making it the highest concentration of forklifts of any workplace in Queensland.

Mr Thompson was joined on the winner’s podium by second place recipient, Peter Cullen, also of GNL Produce and third place recipient Justin Brady, who was last year’s second place winner and a forklift driver with Wholesaler Keith Lind Pty Ltd.

2016 Brisbane Markets® Forklift Operator of the Year winner, Jason Thompson, of GNL Produce, won $1,000 along with the coveted trophy.

Brismark Director, Stephen Edwards who is a member of the Brisbane Markets Safety Advisory Committee and Managing Director of Murray Bros presented the winners trophies.

THE 10 DRIVERS

SPONSORS

The top drivers who made it to the 10 final positions were:

The Forklift Operator of the Year challenge was sponsored by:

Justin Brady – Keith Lind Pt Ltd Ziggy Chmielarski – Murray Bros Peter Cullen – GNL Produce Brad Devon – M&D Vegetable Specialists Pty Ltd Peter Haddock – GNL Produce Richard Hodgson – Favco (Qld) Pty Ltd Joseph Kalolo – Armstrong Bros Vaka Tu’ipulotu – Murray Bros Jason Thompson – GNL Produce Lindsay Rosenthal – Murray Bros

18

fresh source Spring 2016

Brisbane Markets® top 10 safest forklift operators at the grand final presentations.

CHOOSE TO PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT...

in ADVANCE

YOUR ONE CONTACT SOLUTION FOR FIRE / LIFTS / PUMPS & PROPERTY Independent Fire / Lift Company Australian owned and operated Operations throughout Australia Electrical Contractor’s License

Members of the ECA Members of the NFIAQ Public Liability Insurance - $20,000,000 Professional Indemnity Insurance

Performance based & flexible contracts Performance guarantees All maintenance and installation to Australian Standards ISO9001 Approved

QBCC License AS4801 Safety Certified Emergency service 24 hours - 7 days a week Security License

Call 1300 116 675 or www.advancegroups.com.au Advance Electronics Security

Our People

We design and implement all facets of electronic security and MATV systems for your premises.

Our experienced and qualified service technicians have fully equipped service vehicles ensuring that most issues can be immediately rectified and that our clients needs are met within a short response time.

Advance Fire Technology

Our staff undergo constant training and evaluations to be sure your investment stays operating at the same worldclass standard as it was installed.

Dedicated to providing ongoing maintenance for existing fire protection systems and the installation and implementation of fire safety systems in new buildings.

We support teamwork. All our teams work together on each phase of the project to provide a seamless, integrated system that is simple to manage and easy to maintain.

We base our company values in complete customer dedication; from the initial proposal and installation to our after sales customer care.

Advance Lifts Providing complete design assistance including traffic analysis, electrical requirements, complete lift specifications and field surveys for existing buildings.

Advance Global Elevators Specialists in the furnishing and installation of new elevators (passenger and freight), dumbwaiters, escalators and residential equipment in new and existing buildings.

Our References Advance Group of Companies is a multi-disciplined service and installation company with industry knowledge in fire, lifts and pumps.Actively trading for over 15 years, we service, install and maintain systems in over 3,000 establishments across Australia.

Advance Group of Companies has been entrusted to service and maintain a number of Local Councils, Hospitals and prestigious hotel locations for extensive contract periods.

Some of our loyal and on-going clientele: Brisbane City Council

Palazzo Versace

CS Energy

Moreton Bay Regional Council

Gold Coast City Council

La Sabbia

RACV Royal Pines Resort

Marriott Hotels and Resorts

Ramsay Health Care

Village Roadshow Theme Parks

F I R E / L I F T S / P U M P S / P R O P E R T Y

4 Pirelli Street, Southport QLD 4215 • Ph: 1300 116 675 • Fax: 1300 116 676 See our website www.advancegroups.com.au for more information

DIABETES QUEENSLAND WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE BRISMARK ON 75 YEARS BEING PART OF A VITAL SECTOR OF THE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE INDUSTRY. Diabetes Queensland is extremely proud of its partnership with Brismark and Brisbane Markets. Together we are committed to the fruit and vegetable consumption in Queensland and working to help people realise the benefit of healthy food choices. Together we are making a healthier Queensland.

Brismark’s 75th Anniversary A Tribute

Thoughts from the chair

Landmark year celebrated

By Brismark Chairman, Gary Lower

2016 is a landmark year for Brismark, which celebrates its 75th anniversary.

The Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited was formally established as an Association of Market Wholesalers in 1941.

This first move towards unity was largely prompted by the introduction of war related legislation – Wholesalers collectively had no input to this legislation, due to the lack of a representative voice.

Brismark, under its original name The Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited, has had a tremendous history of service and representation to Brisbane Produce Market Wholesalers.

This 12 page feature pays tribute to the people and the work that have made the organisation what it is today.

Here we are 75 years later, and as we look back on this milestone we see how Brismark has transformed from an organisation reliant largely on commercial trading operations to a respected industry organisation providing representation for services to its Members and the Industry.

Defining moments When I look back on these 75 years, the defining moments that come to mind was the establishment of the Credit Service, Bad Debt Reserve, and the Brisbane Markets® acquisition by Landacq Limited.

One of the most significant achievements for Members and the industry generally was the establishment of the Credit Service in 1973 and the Bad Debt Reserve ten years later.

It’s hard to believe that in 1983 throughput at the time was $133 million. Fast-forward to just last financial year, where throughput topped $661 million!

Longest serving Brismark chairman, Gary Lower, at the industry organisation’s 75th anniversary event.

Buying Brisbane Markets® An extraordinary effort of commitment and professionalism of the then Executive and negotiating team were critical to the successful bid to buy the Brisbane Markets® from the State Government, with Landacq Limited being named the successful bidder in 2002.

respect of the operation, management and development of the Brisbane Markets®.

So what does the future hold for our industry and for Brismark’s Members?

The current Brismark Board of Directors will work hard to honour the legacy of the past, and to ensure that Brismark, its Members and the Central Markets System remains viable and is here for at least the next 75 years.

For me, industry ownership remains paramount, to ensure Wholesalers have an appropriate level of influence in

22

fresh source Spring 2016

Owning shares in Brisbane Markets Limited has been a hard fought strategic initiative that has benefited all of Brismark’s Members, and something we will fight hard to keep.

Paying tribute to those who made the difference

By Andrew Young, CEO Brismark

In late June, Brismark celebrated its 75th anniversary with a morning tea, unveiling a commemorative display in the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room and the presentation of 40 year service award to some of the longer serving members of our Brisbane Markets® community.

success of the Brismark-managed bid for the Markets in 2002, to support and promote industry based ownership of the Markets.

• All other Wholesaler Principals who have made the effort to serve on the Brismark Board as Chairmen Deputy Chairmen, and Directors.

• Our staff, who have continually shown incredible levels of commitment to the organisation.

Focusing on history It was a pleasure to be able to speak with past and current Brismark Principals and staff during this celebration.

Everyone had a story to share about a particular time – some remembering events from the earlier decades like it was yesterday.

As part of this special feature I want to make specific mention of a number of people who have worked to shape the direction and success of Brismark.

Tributes In doing so I acknowledge all the past directors and managers of the organisation, and pay tribute to the following people: • The late Arch Martin and late Murray Livingstone, both having played central roles in the formation of Brismark and its collection of history.

• Gerry Garard, my predecessor who was appointed in 1988 to turn the Chamber around and set a new strategic direction.

• Wholesalers Noel Greenhalgh and Craig Spencer, whose businesses R.W. Pascoe and Carter & Spencer in 2002 underwrote the capital raising as we undertook to purchase the Markets in the final days of the negotiations with the Queensland Government, and in doing so, confirmed the success of the bid.

• Chairman Gary Lower and Deputy Chairman Tony Joseph who have worked tirelessly for the organisation over many years, particularly in the lead up to and since the Brismark 75th Anniversary Ad.pdf 1 4/08/2016 10:51:44 AM

C

Flash back to 2014: The Brisbane Markets History Task Force members, from left, history ambassador, the now late Arch Martin with Brismark’s CEO Andrew Young, Chairman Gary Lower and Deputy Chairman Tony Joseph. The room was later renamed the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room in tribute to the life and work of Mr Martin.

Congratulations Brismark and its members on this key milestone

M

Y

CM

MY

We’re proud to support your fresh produce supply chain

CY

CMY

K

13 CHEP (13 2437)

fresh source Spring 2016

23

1940 – 1950 s

s

Meet the first Chamber president

Where it all began

Jim Leavy was the first president of The Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Cooperative Limited, a legend in the industry and the owner of wholesaler J. H. Leavy from the early 1900s.

He ran the business until his retirement in 1970, and despite his failing eyesight, continued unto the day it was sold.

In his later years, Mr Leavy, with his English accent and pipe, would sit on a wooden box on the section floor watching the work unfold and was likened to former English Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited, or Brismark as it is now more commonly known, was formally established as an association in 1941 (the name Brismark was developed in early 1989, and is an abbreviated version of “Brisbane Market” and “Brisbane Marketers”).

It began when a group of fruit and vegetable Wholesalers met to discuss the need to have a combined industry voice.

Their mission was “to be a highly effective and professional employer organisation operating in the best interest of our Members as a group, through excellence in representation and service, with a commitment to our Market, the Central Market System and the horticultural industry.”

A full time secretary, Ernie Brooks, was employed by the Executive from 1941.

The organisation first operated from premises located in the earlier Brisbane Roma and Turbot Street Markets, in what is today virtually the heart of Brisbane city.

Mr Brooks pushed the idea of setting up trading operations to help defray the cost of the Secretariat.

The Chamber began to seriously trade in Market requisites in 1950, when it purchased a vacant selling floor, which became a hardware and stationery store.

Jim Leavy, the first president of The Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited, in his later years.

First talks to relocate the Markets In the mid-to-late 1950’s, the Chamber became heavily involved with the State Government enquiry into the relocation of the congested city markets in Roma and Turbot Streets.

Did you know?

The move to Rocklea prompted the negotiation of vastly improved hours and the implementation of the City of Brisbane Market Act.

24

The first Chamber office was located on the first floor of the Brisbane Fruit and Produce Exchange Building, in Turbot Street, where the first secretary, Ernie Brooks, the instigator of the organisation, kept his desk.

It stayed there until the 1950s when the Chamber shifted to a suspended office above one of the selling floors with a shop frontage.

fresh source Spring 2016

The registration document, stamped, on 20 March 1941, formally establishing the Chamber as an association. The document is today located in the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room.

1960 – 1970 s

s

A new home at Rocklea

The one in 100 years flood

Chamber members moved to the Brisbane Markets® at Sherwood Road on its opening in 1964, becoming close to rail and connecting roads, with room to expand.

In 1974, the whole Brisbane Markets® complex was flooded as a result of cyclonic weather on the Australia Day weekend in January.

This move also involved the Chamber office shifting, with its new offices located on the top floor of Building D, including space for a Boardroom.

The Chamber Members suffered considerable losses of stock in addition to major damage to coolrooms and processing plants.

During the 1960s, The Chamber expanded on its shop front sales ideas and operated a number of services to raise revenue.

Photos and stories remain of Wholesalers maneuvering small boats to the Brisbane Produce Market awning to gain entry to what was remaining of their offices on the second level.

These included a hardware store, a garden and nursery centre, stationer, packaging supplies, night unloading, travel service and it even broadcast fresh produce prices from a radio studio.

The Postmaster-General’s Department ensured the quick restoration of the telephone facilties, allowing The Chamber General Manager Murray Livingstone to give a running commentary to the media.

There was only a complete shut down for two days until the Committee of Direction made its Curzon Street premises available. Incredibly, the Brisbane Markets® was only out of action for four days before trade could resume.

Markets® Commercial Centre, on The Hardware store in the Brisbane ing businesses set up by The thriv the Sherwood Road, was just one of .

Heaters were on special from $3.75 Chamber. How things have changed:

Birth of a credit control system By the 1970s, bad debts had become a problem for the Wholesalers. However, a solution was on its way.

Above: The Chamber Hardware store post the 1974 flood. Volunteers, local government and service organisations turned up in droves to lend a hand.

Below: Brisbane Produce Market workers float past the their top floor offices during the height of the flood.

In 1972, a Brismark Markets® delegation embarked on a World Market Study Tour and returned with a credit control scheme idea that was seen in the Toronto Terminal Market.

The Chamber chairman Roy Hollett, and his executive, floated the idea of forming their own Credit Service to the Members. There was strong opposition.

Former Brismark Chairman Arch Martin, who had brought the Toronto Terminal Market credit system flyer back with him from the study tour wrote, “A lot of The Chamber members wanted to be paid but didn’t want to pay on the same terms. It was difficult to sell”.

However, the “sell” was successful and the Credit Service was introduced to the Brisbane Markets® on 1 July 1973.

fresh source Spring 2016

25

40 year service recipients Brismark has celebrated the longevity of the Markets workforce with 40 year service awards, adding more long-serving employees to a growing list of dedicated workers. The award recognises those people who were nominated and met award criteria from the Wholesaling and Retailing sectors of the industry.

The full list of 40 year recipients are: Alex Barker

Don Alroe

John Misuraca

Rob Whatling

Alex Littman

Don McInerney

John Nicolaou

Robert Davidson

Andreas (Andy) Zenonos

Doug Ballinger

John Pershouse

Rodney Fiechtner

Angelo Pennisi

Ed Golebiowski

Keith Mahaffey

Ross Caltabiano

Arch Martin

Ernie Wood

Ken Madden

Sam Pennisi

Arthur Butler

Frank Alati

Kevin Pugh

Simon George

Arthur Shand

Gary Lower

Les Hartley

Stephen Hunt

Bill George

Ross Lower

Mal Potter

Sue Dean

Bill Hansen

Gary Russell

Margaret Batchelor

Ted Beaton

Bill Hayes

Gary Scott

Mark Joseph

Terry Williams

Bob Smith

Geoff Haddock

Maurice Waddington

Tony Carter

Bob Wilson

Geoff Richardson

Maurie Goffman

Tony Joseph

Bob Wright

Glen Scott

Michael Deveney

Tony Spoto

Brian Ballard

Gordon Vinson

Michael Streeton

Trevor Shand

Bruce Butler

Graham Meagher

Murray Livingstone

Vincent Bowyer

Cecil Angelucci

Graham Stanton

Neale Cullen

Virgil Bambrick

Chris Nicolaou

Graham Thomas

Pamela Scott

Wally Samphier

Chris Payne

Jean Donaldson

Perry Panos

Warren Helig

Col Payne

Jeff Muter

Peter Allen

Wayne Lower

Con Leontsinis

John Cavanagh

Peter Joseph

Wayne Russell

Craig Spencer

John Dart

Peter Kedwell

Wayne Spencer

Dario Vescovi

John Green

Peter Wakely

Des Surawski

John Kittas

Ralph Kydd

Dick Baptist

John Martin

Rob Clarke

“Congratulations Brismark on 75 years”

Brisbane Markets®’ 40 year award recipients line up during Brismark’s 75th anniversary celebrations.

26

fresh source Spring 2016

Celebratory morning tea to mark a milestone

1

2

Old friends, business rivals and even a politician or two turned out for a heartwarming morning tea to mark Brismark’s 75 year celebration.

Invited guests, each with a story to tell, poured into the Brisbane Markets® Fresh Centre at the end of June to officially mark the event and present some honours along the way.

Brismark took the opportunity to present certificates to some of the Brisbane Markets® longest serving workers with a 40 year award ceremony amid the speeches and entertainment.

4

3 5

6

Queensland Opposition Deputy Leader and former Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Deb Frecklington, was joined by dual Queensland Minister for Main Roads, Road Safety and Ports and Minister for Energy and Water Supply and local member for Yeerongpilly, Mark Bailey to wish Brismark well.

The event included the opening of a Brismark display in the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room.

1 Stories are told in the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room. From left, Paul O’Toole, Gerry Garard (side profile), Tony Joseph, Con Leontsinis and Dick Baptist share a memory.

2 Queensland Opposition Deputy Leader and former Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Deb Frecklington, has a personal tour of the Brismark display.

3 History buffs and memorabilia donors Tom and Pat Buchanan, relatives of Markets identity Murray Livingstone, pour through memorabilia, including a collection of Mr Livingstone’s diaries..

7

4 Former long-time Brisbane Produce Market workers catch up: from left, Ken Madden, formally of JH Leavy, chats with, Frank Leeder, of JE Tipper.

Ken has donated a number of objects to the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room.

5

Brisbane Markets® stalwarts Rodney and Carol Fechtner were special guests. Rodney was a truck driver, salesman and supermarket chain Buyer over the years, while Carol was the principal of wholesalers W S Williams.

6 Catching up: From left, Jeff Muter, of J Allen, with his 40 years’ service award, former Brismark General Manager Gerry Garard, former Retailer, Peter Betros, and Brismark Director, Peter Tighe.

7 Queensland Minister and local member for Yeerongpilly, Mark Bailey (left), chats with the principals of O’Toole’s Produce, Paul and Bernice O’Toole.

YOU WANT IT? WE’VE GOT IT! YOUR COMPLETE AUSTRALASIAN PRODUCE MARKETING AND SUPPLY LOGISTICS PARTNER.

Member of Darling Group

Call us on: +61 428 454 979 Email us at: ben@jhleavy.com.au www.jhleavy.com.au

fresh source Spring 2016

27

1980 – 1990 s

s

Progress topped off with a name change

A blossoming past

The 1980s was a time of progress for The Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited and by the end of the decade, it even had a new name.

Just some of the changes included proposing the launch of a Bad Debt Fund (Reserve), moving bouquet selling Wholesalers into a Flower Market, and by 1987, The Chamber expanded its revenue base with the purchase of a service station, on Sherwood Road, at the front of the Brisbane Markets®.

However, the biggest change came in 1989, with The Chamber adopting the name Brismark, an abbreviated version of “Brisbane Market” and “Brisbane Marketers”.

The logo that you see today is not the same one. It was updated in 2004 to give it a more modern twist.

Controlling its own destiny

The Queensland Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries Co-operative Limited decided to open a Flower Market and lobbied the Brisbane Markets Trust.

The lobbying was successful and the new flower and fresh produce storage section opened on 13 April 1981 in Building T.

From left, Wholesaler turned flower seller, Doug Staples, with the Queensland Governor Sir James Ramsay on Building T’s opening day in 1981. Photo courtesy of Doug Staples.

A 1980s office

Brismark’s Members overwhelmingly wanted to control their own destiny.

The organisation made numerous approaches to the Queensland Government over many years regarding ownership and control of the existing Brisbane Markets®.

By 1994, Brismark joined with Members to establish a company, Landacq Limited, to pursue ownership of a tract of land suitable for the establishment of a separate state-of-the-art Central Market and distribution facility.

At the same time, Brismark lobbied the State Government until it announced it would sell the Brisbane Markets® by open tender. Brismark then went about steering Landacq Limited to gain the support of Growers, Wholesalers, provedores and the retailing sector.

Did you know?

28

In 1992, Brismark launched one of its earlier Retailer Programs called Fresh Fest, the forerunner of the Your Local Fruit Shop program seen today.

fresh source Spring 2016

In 1989 the Brismark Credit Service team members shared an open plan office at the end of Building D. There was lots to do. The year before, in 1988, the Credit Service introduced an Accelerated Payment Cycle for its Members. Brismark also operated an investment service, travel service, hardware store, and a stationery and packing business.

2000

s

Buying the Brisbane Markets® In 2001, the State Government announced it would be selling the Brisbane Markets® by way of an open tender.

This had followed years of lobbying by Brismark’s members and an agreement with industry company, Landacq Limited, for Brismark to manage an industry-led bid to buy the Brisbane Markets®.

Landacq Limited was restructured so as to become the bidding entity, while capital raising and negotiations with banks regarding debt facilities were progressed to allow the company to find the acquisition, should the bid be successful. The Brismark Board coordinated the process thorugh the CEO and a team of advisors.

Underwriting the deal in the final days of the negotiations were wholesale organisations R W Pascoe and the

Carter & Spencer Group. The 72 hectare site was bought for $73.85 million.

The annual general meeting on 28 November 2002 unanimously approved a change in company name from Landacq Limited to Brisbane Markets Limited, which still stands today.

6 August 2002 – from left, Queensland Minister for Primary Industries and Rural Communities Henry Palaszczuk, Queensland Treasurer and Deputy Premier Terry Mackenroth, Chairman Landacq Limited Tony Joseph and Landacq Limited Director Tony Kelly signing the contract for the sale of the Brisbane Markets® from the Queensland Government.

Congratulations advertisement released by Brismark to wish Landacq Limited well for the start of a new era as owners of the Brisbane Markets®.

Getting technology savvy The 2000s heralded progress for the technology savvy Brismark Credit Service, the most significant change moving Wholesalers and Buyers online in 2001.

This further streamlined the operation of the Credit Service with the gradual uptake of this service.

Brismark Credit Service team members, from left, Sandra Griffiths and Tammy Brereton, monitor the online services.

There was plenty of work to need such a streamlining. By 2003, the Brismark Credit Service throughput exceeded $500 million.

Congratulations Alfred E Chave would like to congratulate Brismark on 75 years of outstanding service.

Through the highs and lows, we are looking forward to another 75 years alongside Brismark.

- The Alfred E Chave team

fresh source Spring 2016

29

2010

s

Watery start to a progressive decade The decade still has four years to run and the 2010s have been a progressive time for Brismark but it’s had its challenges, including natural disasters.

In 2011 another flood inundated the Brisbane Markets® and most of Brisbane, with the waters not rising as high as the 1974 incident but causing far more damage.

While many will remember the decade for its industry lobbying, the overhaul and success of its retailer program and the move to encourage consumers to buy their fresh produce online, the word “flood” is still in the back of people’s minds.

Incredibly, the Brisbane Produce Market was operational within 60 hours of the flood waters receding.

The Brisbane Markets® had grown to a 77 hectare site and had five times the infrastructure.

Once again, government agencies, the military, local businesses and hundreds of volunteers, known as the Mud Army, turned up to assist; gloved, with buckets in hand, and they helped mop up the site.

Muddy devastation: Pallets floated onto a car that was immersed in flood waters in January 2011.

Meet Brismark today

1

Seventy-five years on, Brismark is thriving with 53 shareholder Member organisations, all located within the Brisbane Produce Market, together with a number of Associate Member organisations.

It’s office relocated from Building D to the refurbished Fresh Centre building in 2011, with the Credit Service located on the ground floor, convenient to a café, training room and the Brisbane Produce Market, with the administration team working from Level 2.

It’s still a service organisation, providing vital support to its Members such as industry representation, training, health and safety, employee recruitment, credit management and industry promotion.

Brismark’s Board and Committees continue to provide strong industry leadership and a voice for its Members, working for improved industry regulation and further development of the Brisbane Markets® facility.

2

1 Brismark is a FreshTest outlet for the Australian Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries (Fresh Markets Australia) initiative which provides low cost MRL (chemical residue) and microbial testing for primary Wholesalers and their Growers in Australia’s Central Markets.

2 The Brismark Credit Service, found on the Ground Floor of the Fresh Centre, at the Brisbane Markets®.

Check out its services at www.brismark.com.au.

Congratulatulations to Brismark on its 75th Anniversary freshstate.com.au

Fresh State advert_Brismark_final.indd 1

30

fresh source Spring 2016

Fresh State represents the interests of Melbourne wholesalers and associated service industries at the Melbourne Market.

18/08/2016 5:42 PM

Retailers take the spotlight Brismark and Brisbane Markets Limited are working together to help the Brisbane Produce Market’s independent Retailers take on the supermarkets through a retailer program that tells the farm-to-plate story.

Its industry identifier, “Your Local Fruit Shop”, began popping up on billboards, print advertisements, facebook, radio stations, youtube and even through Instagram at the start of 2015 and is seen at all participating fruit shops throughout South East Queensland.

About 80 South East Queensland fruit shops are part of the campaign, managed by Brismark, with the support of Brisbane Markets Limited.

Over the past 18 months, the campaign to have consumers look for “fresh’, “quality” and “local” has expanded through social media campaigns, radio and outdoor advertising and the use of stickers, posters and in-store signage.

Learn more about it at the YLFS facebook page or visit yourlocalfruitshop.com.au.

YLFS fruiter Joseph Guardala, of Indooroopilly Fruit, is interviewed about the program soon after its launch in 2015.

Brismark acquired major ownership of the BuyFruit platform to help its YLFS greengrocers compete in the rapidly growing online fresh food market.

Check it out at www.buyfruit.com.au.

Workshops are part of the busy YLFS program for retailers. Members’ pictured hearing about advancements in the program are, from left, Rob Sayle, Sam Fichera, David Faranda and Colin Pearce.

Working with Buyers

BuyFruit online shopping platform The Brismark managed retailer program, Your Local Fruit Shop (YLFS), has launched BuyFruit, an online shopping platform which has been made available to members of the YLFS program.

The Your Local Fruit Shop logo that appears in YLFS stores and in promotions across South East Queensland.

There are more than 1,000 registered fruit and vegetable Buyers operating in the Brisbane Produce Market.

They are made up of secondary Wholesalers, provedores, independent greengrocers and other Retailers, exporters, food processors, restaurateurs, caterers and hotels.

BuyFruit allows consumers to buy their fruit and vegetables online and supports Your Local Fruit Shop members.

Brismark offers a range of services to commercial Buyers at the Brisbane Produce Market including: • Credit Service arrangements for Buyers • Debt Recovery Solutions (DRS) • Fuel cards • Secretarial Services • Training and Development • Your Local Fruit Shop Retailer Program • Industry representation Find out more at www.brismark.com.au/ engaging-with-the-markets/buyers/.

T H E A U S T R A L I A N C H A M B E R O F F R U I T & V E G E TA B L E I N D U S T R I E S L I M I T E D

fresh source Spring 2016

31

Hono uri ng B rismark’s Executives Brismark proudly displays the names of the people who have led the organisation over the past 75 years on hour boards and through its 75 year anniversary display in the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room.

1958/1961

A J Martin

1981/1982

E F Wood

1961/1962

E D Tipper

1982/1983

I R Boyce

1962/1963

W. Carter

1983/1984

D L Hooper

1963/1964

S N Martin

1984/1985

R R Cumming

1964/1965

C B Bright

1985/1986

R D Robson

1965/1966

R M Livingstone

1986/1987

A J Joseph

These include:

1966/1967

R R Murray

1987/1988

M J Deveney

Chairmen/Presidents

1967/1968

A J Martin

1988/1991

D L Alroe

1941/1943

J H Leavy

1969/1970

L Paratz

1991/1994

A J Joseph

1943/1945

J F Jesser

1969/1970

H W D Geschke

1994/1997

W M George

1945/1947

L A Martin

1970/1971

M T Potter

1997/1998

A J Joseph

1947/1948

W M Guttormsen

1971/1972

G J Spencer

1998/2001

K J Andrews

1948/1949

J F Jesser

1972/1973

R A Hollett

2001/2003

A R Kelly

1949/1950

L A Martin

1973/1974

L Paratz

2003-present G Lower

P McCowan

1974/1975

I Boyce

General Managers

1951/1952

H L Wool

1975/1978

R J Lynn

1975/1982

R M Livingstone

1952/1953

T S Bowden

1979/1977

E F Wood

1982/1988

N F Pitt

R R Murray

1977/1978

P Ireland

CEO/General Manager

1954/1955

W E Potter

1978/1979

R A Hollett

1988/1999

1955/1956

E D Tipper

1979/1980

D L Alroe

1956/1957

A H Stanton

1980/1981

R R Cumming

1957/1958

C J Carter

1950/1951

1953/1954

Gerry Garrard

CEO 2000-present Andrew Youung

Did you know?

You will find a list of Brismark’s members and the current executive team on the inside cover of this spring edition Fresh Source.

Congratulations Brismark on 75 Years of Great Service! our role, Industries Coop. Ltd hon t at er of Fruit & Vegetables in 1998 and is also kep The Queensland Chamb ated cre was rd boa honour ive service. from 1941 to 1997. A new cut exe n give e hav se who Brismark to honour tho

32

fresh source Spring 2016

retailing FOODIE JOURNALISTS TOUR THE TRADING FLOOR Queensland’s top food journalists and bloggers were hands-on, experiencing the vibrancy of the Brisbane Produce Trading floor recently.

The journalists and publicists with a passion for the kitchen topped off the tour by tasting the delights of a fresh produce cook up in the Market Kitchen during a media familiarisation in August.

Brisbane Produce Market’s Your Local Fruit Shop team invited the key food media representatives to meet with greengrocers on

the trading floor to show them firsthand how they select their fresh fruit and vegetables.

Back in the Fresh Centre building, the group were given a fresh breakfast cooked up by Brisbane Markets® Kitchen patron and celebrity chef Dominque Rizzo.

Chef Rizzo also judged an avocado slicing competition held between the foodie journalists.

For more information on the Your Local Fruit Shop campaign, visit www.yourlocalfruitshop.com.au or like the facebook site at www.facebook.com/ yourlocalfruitshop

TOP 10 FRUIT AND VEG ONLINE Brismark’s new e-commerce platform Buyfruit has produced the top 10 fruit and vegetables to eat for best nutrition, and they’re all available on the www.buyfruit.com.au website.

Brismark acquired major ownership of the platform to help its greengrocers in its Your Local Fruit Shop program to compete in the rapidly growing online fresh food market.

Topping the list for spring are strawberries that contain the highest levels of folate. They get a second nutritional medal for the tiny amount of sugar they contain – in fact, they’re actually the lowest sugar fruit.

34

fresh source Spring 2016

From left, bloggers Laura Kelly, from Eatin; Mess and Xiu Lee, of Elsewherebriefly, share a chat during the Brisbane Produce Market Foodie Media Famil in the Market Kitchen.

YLFS COMPETITION A WINNER The winners have been drawn, and five local customers of Your Local Fruit Shop (YLFS) stores are each $5,000 richer.

The winners were drawn from 27,896 competition entries from the in-store promotion within 72 YLFS stores in South East Queensland.

Customers were asked to pick out specially marked locally grown produce, fill out a competition entry form and pop it into a barrel for a chance to win.

Coming it at number two is broccoli, which is full of nutrition and has significant anti-cancer benefits, as well as having been shown to protect the health of our lungs and heart.

Next is kiwifruit, spinach, apples, carrots, avocados, mushrooms, bananas and lucky number 10 is red capsicum.

Queensland’s top food journalists and bloggers visited the Brisbane Produce Market during trading time.

Runners up from each of the stores scored a $100 YLFS voucher.

Stacks of strawberries are great eating at this time of year and are the number one nutritional buy listed on the buyfruit.com.au website.

The major prize winners were: Donna Watts - Earth Markets Hyperdome, Steve Rutter - Ashgrove Fresh Fruit Markets, Helen Carey - Erbacher Fruit & Poultry, Keisha Hoffmann - Feast on Fruit and Kara Formella - Betros Bros.

SHOPPERS MAKING ON-THE-SPOT DECISIONS The August 2016 findings from Project Harvest, a consumer research study commissioned by Horticulture Innovation Australia, show that the proportion of Australians who purchase the same fresh vegetables every shopping trip as part of their routine has nearly halved – from 59% down to 30%.

Australian shopping habits are changing rapidly to accommodate busier, more time-poor lifestyles, with new research suggesting that consumers’ fresh vegetable purchasing patterns are shifting dramatically away from having a routine towards making on-the-spot decisions.

This has been matched by a huge increase in the amount of consumers who make their purchase decisions spontaneously based on what’s in-store

and available (leaping from 7% to 2%), or who purchase fresh vegetables with specific planned recipes in mind (jumping from 8% to 22%).

The report also found that the amount of consumers who say they’re best described as buying fresh vegetables that they notice are on special or promotional pricing has dropped by more than 20%, suggesting that there are a decreasing amount of shoppers for whom price is the primary factor.

WHEN YOUR BODY IS VEGIE FRESH Eat fresh, smell fresh – that’s the message from researchers at Macquarie University, who recently completed a study indicating that men who eat more vegetables smell more appealing to women.

By providing sweat samples to female participants to evaluate, and cross-referencing it with markers of greater fruit and vegetable intake, the study has found that eating fresh produce results in more

pleasant-smelling sweat with “floral, fruity, sweet and medicinal” qualities.

Previous studies have found that carotenoids, which accumulate in humans through fresh vegetable consumption, contribute to the yellowness of skin in Caucasians, meaning that slightly yellower skin is a mark of greater intake of fruit and vegetables.

The other benefit is that it has also been found to increase someone’s facial attractiveness to others.

YOUR LOCAL FRUIT SHOP IS AOK READY It’s back! The Act of Kindness (AOK) Mango Retailer charity promotion has opened again in Your Local Fruit Shop (YLFS) participating stores throughout South East Queensland to raise money for charity.

supporting Diabetes Queensland and Life Education Queensland.

YLFS stores will be asking people to buy $2 mango stickers to place on a “mango tree”, with all funds raising

2016 AOK fundraiser will run throughout October and ends a month later on 6 November.

2016 MANGO AUCTION

The campaign is a great way for YLFS members to give back to the community, as well as celebrating the start of mango season and promoting the sale of mangoes.

Which YLFS store will raise the most?

PERFORM YOUR ACT

F KINDNESS

JOIN BRISBANE MARKETS AND YOUR LOCAL FRUIT SHOP IN SUPPORTING QUEENSLAND CHILDREN

Make the connection DESIGN • WEB • PRINT

07 3040 4343 | EFFIGY.COM.AU PROUD DESIGNERS OF FRESH SOURCE MAGAZINE

fresh source Spring 2016

35

Carter & Spencer Celebrating 80 years

80 YEARS ANNIVERSARY FOR CARTER & SPENCER There were no forklifts or pallets in the 1930s, nor sophisticated supply and logistics methods.

Still, from humble beginnings at Brisbane’s Turbot Street markets, on 7 September 1936, brothers Stan and Wally Carter founded a fresh produce wholesale business, S&W Carter.

1964 the company relocated to the Brisbane Markets® site at Rocklea. From there began a period of enormous growth for the business.

It is proudly the oldest fresh produce company at the Brisbane Markets® under the same family ownership – with George and Lee (nee Carter) Spencer’s next generation progressing the business.

Stan and Wally were joined 28 years later by George Spencer, the husband of Stan’s daughter Lee, and in

Managing Director Craig Spencer is at the helm, and his sons Chris and Matt Spencer are working on the front line of sales and procurement.

Snap shot from the past: The S & W Carter Pty Ltd section in the Turbot Street Market in 1954.

2016 – The Carter & Spencer Group executive and sales team get together at the Fresh Connections trade show in Brisbane.

GROWING A GLOBAL COMPANY While many in the industry will recognise the Carter & Spencer Group name for its Brisbane Markets® wholesale section in Building D and quality produce from the 180 hectare Spencer Ranch at Wallaville, the company is global.

By 1985 it had created Carter & Spencer International, later known as CSI, a specialist import/export company with operations in New Zealand and Australia.

Carter & Spencer Group has operated trading offices overseas and expanded to global trade more than 35 years ago.

Two years later, it established Foodstuffs Fresh, in Auckland. This was a joint venture between Foodstuffs (Auckland) Ltd, New Zealand’s largest food retailer, and Carter & Spencer Group.

In 1980, it began importing from New Zealand and California, and celebrated a number for firsts – the first avocado shipment to Queensland, first cherries to Australia and first national programs of New Zealand kiwifruit and stonefruit and also Californian citrus, cherries, grapes, garlic and stonefruit.

36

fresh source Spring 2016

In 2000, the company pioneered Fresh Direct Imports, a national import program with distribution centres in Brisbane/ Sydney/Melbourne and Perth.

It established its trading companies in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2006, and the following year in Shanghai, China and Auckland, New Zealand, with the most recent, the Visalia, California office in 2012.

BUILDING A STRONGER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM With progress comes the need for improved logistics and state-of-the-art facilities, and the Carter & Spencer is recognised throughout the Australian fresh produce industry as specialist providers of Third Party logistics.

Its current Tennyson facility, 300 metres from the Brisbane Markets®, was purpose-built for the receipt, handling, storage and dispatch of fresh produce.

Some of its early building projects were just as impressive for their time, with the 1997 building of the George Spencer Building at the Brisbane Markets®, the first fully refrigerated produce distribution centre for a major supermarket chain.

It became the benchmark for all the supermarket’s distribution centres throughout Australia.

The building was sold in 2014 for the move to the Curzon Street, Tennyson complex.

Other developments included: 1980 – Commissioning the first purpose built distribution centre at Building L at the Brisbane 1988 - Building a Townsville distribution centre to service North Queensland supermarkets; 2002 – Constructing a $60 million state-of-the-art produce distribution centre at Mangere, New Zealand.

A GROWING BUSINESS Staying hands on with the produce that is being sold and distributed by the Carter & Spencer Group was boosted in 2007 with the purchase of a citrus orchard in Wallaville, today known as the Spencer Ranch.

However, Growers across Australia produce for the company. It boasts farming operations in citrus, green house eggplant, sweet potatoes, ginger, eshallots, garlic and snow peas.

This includes a greenhouse to grow high quality eggplant on four acres at Moore Park, Queensland.

It also has the Bundaberg Packing Facility to process sweet potatoes, snow peas, sugar snap peas, mandarins, limes, oranges, lemons and passionfruit.

1997 – From left, Carter & Spencer’s distribution manager Keith Mahaffey and Principal Craig Spencer inspect the warehouse under construction with Brisbane Market Authority CEO Ian Hunter.

From left, Andrew Christodoulou (Manager – Sales & Growing Operations) and Jeff Skilton, Carter & Spencer ginger grower – Bullyard, QLD in the field.

fresh source Spring 2016

37

industry RAINY BOWEN VISIT A TIME TO CELEBRATE Bowen Gumlu Growers kicked up their heals with their annual industry dinner being staged in July, making it the perfect timing for a Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) team to tour the area to catch up with Growers despite a deluge of rain.

BML Communications Executives Luke Leeson and Vanessa Kennedy met with Growers in muddy paddocks and the shelter of packing sheds from the Burdekin to Bowen during the visit, guided by Bowen Gumlu Growers Association Industry Development Officer Anna McCowan.

BGGA president Carl Walker on the farm during the BML’s visit to the north.

Bowen is the largest winter vegetable growing region in Australia sending fruit and vegetables to domestic markets and exporting to international markets.

More than 100 people turned out to the industry dinner held at the Merinda Village Hotel, in Bowen, which included live entertainment with band, Attori, and a fund raising North Queensland Cowboys jersey and tickets auction.

About $3500 was raised for local charity Buck Off Melanoma.

A cuppa catch up in Ayr: From left, BGGA’s Anna McCowan, Burdekin Growers Association’s Eileen List (secretary) and Frank Covolo (president) and BML’s Luke Leeson.

DID YOU KNOW? Bowen is the oldest town in North Queensland, first established in 1861. It is also the birthplace of the Kensington Pride (Bowen) mango.

BGGA deputy chairman Laurie Land on his Gumlu farm.

BOWEN GUMLU REGION’S STATISTICS • Industry worth over $450 million a year.

• Largest winter growing region in Australia.

• Employ around 3,200 skilled and unskilled workers a year.

Dale and Cheryl Williams, of Euri Gold Farms, near Bowen, enjoy BGGA’s annual industry dinner.

• Horticulture is the largest economic driver in the region.

• Vegetable Production is from April/May through to November.

• Mango production is from November to December.

38

fresh source Spring 2016

Enjoying BGGA’s fun industry night were, from left, Belinda Williams and Michelle O’Regan, of Stakelroth Farms, also known as “Spooky Pete’s” after its success with Halloween pumpkin varieties.

CELEBRATIONS WITH A NIGHT UNDER THE STARS

By Bree Grima, Managing Director, Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers

On behalf of Directors and staff at Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers (BFVG), we wish Brismark a sincere Happy 75 year Anniversary.

BFVG is proud to be affiliated with this organisation that is a proud ambassador for the fresh produce sector.

In late July I was pleased to attend the Brisbane Produce Markets Gala Dinner and what a fantastic night that was. I thank Brismark for the invitation and hope that many participants from that night will travel to Bundaberg to celebrate at our own Gala Dinner this October 8.

Regional Update The region has been busy during the winter months.

What was looking to be a dry winter turned into a wet one and temperatures remained modest with the cooler nights occurring at the end of winter.

Growers who managed their crops well through the challenging winter weather are experiencing good returns. Snacking lines are in full swing and tomato prices continue to improve.

Advocacy On the advocacy front, BFVG added its voice to the working holiday maker visa review. We sit with the Queensland Horticulture Council and supported its view to ‘scrap the tax’.

The Federal Government has responded to our industry pressure and dumped the budget plan to impose the 32.5% tax on backpacker workers, which would have potentially reduced the available pool of labour our Growers have access to.

Under a compromise deal, working holidaymakers will be taxed at 19% from their first dollar earned instead.

DID YOU KNOW?

We support and request a more detailed review of agriculture workforce needs.

Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers (BFVG) held its Night Under the Stars gala dinner in October with more 530 people attending the biannual event.

It was a new venue with the Wide Bay Burnett’s local produce the focus of the evening.

Watch for a full report in your December Fresh Source. fresh source Spring 2016

39

industry

industry bites JOINT INDUSTRY CONFERENCE HISTORIC AUSVEG and PMA Australia-New Zealand Limited (PMA-ANZ) will unite to deliver a joint industry conference and trade show in 2017, marking an historic partnership between two of horticulture’s leading organisations.

The “Hort Connections” event will be held at the Adelaide Convention

Centre from 15-17 May 2017 with the event catering to growers and whole-of-supply-chain companies and organisations.

The Memorandum of Understanding between AUSVEG and PMA-ANZ will effectively combine two of the industry’s biggest conventions to provide growers and whole-of-supply-chain companies and organisations with the most significant horticulture event in the Australasian region.

Two major conferences unite. AUSVEG Women in Horticulture 2016 winner, vegetable grower Sharron Windolf and PMA-NZ Chairman John Said talk about the joint conference in 2017.

GROWING LEADERS BACK IN 2017 Applications will open for the Growing Leaders 2017 National Vegetable Industry Leadership Program in November, with Horticulture Innovation Australia continuing to fund the highly sought-after program in 2017.

The program, designed in consultation with the vegetable industry, is delivered over six months including one three-day

residential session in Melbourne and the Gold Coast and Canberra.

It is open to growers, harvesters, marketers, processers, exporters, importers, and all roles in between.

For course information, visit www.ruraltraininginitiatives.com.au.

To register your interest, contact Jill Briggs on 02 6035 7284, 0409 455 710 or email jill@ruraltraininginitiatives.com.au.

BACKPACKER TAX COMPROMISE WELCOMED

NEW CEO FOR APPLES AND PEARS

The Federal Government has responded to backbench and industry pressure and dumped the budget plan to impose a 32.5% tax on backpacker workers.

Apples and Pears Australia Limited (APAL) have appointed Philip Turnbull as CEO after the resignation of John Dollisson who has stepped down to pursue other opportunities.

Under a compromise deal, working holidaymakers will be taxed at 19% from their first dollar earned instead.

While many farming and industry lobby groups expressed satisfaction with the deal.

Backpackers make up 25% of the farm workforce in Australia.

In the Northern Territory, they represent 85%of farm labourers.

40

fresh source Spring 2016

Mr Turnbull has been a member of the APAL Board since 2006, initially joining as the Director for pears and becoming an Independent Director in 2015.

He has worked in marketing with Pacific Brands Food Group and Nestlé Dairy Products, managing a number of iconic Australian brands.

More recently, Mr Turnbull was Managing Director of his family business, Turnbull Estate Pty Ltd.

VEGETABLE EXPO THE FIRST OF MANY

PINEAPPLES HEAD SOUTH

Lockyer Valley Growers (LVG) are already mulling over ideas how to make their next National Horticulture and Innovation Expo at Gatton even bigger and better than the inaugural event held in July.

Queensland pineapples have found their way south of the border as part of a Pineapples Australia promotion in Sydney to highlight their great nutritional benefits.

Hundreds of people poured onto the Queensland Department of Agriculture research facility grounds at Gatton for the two day event that showcased the latest seed, demonstration machinery innovation and technology.

The September promotion in Moore Park was a taste testing experience for southerners, hosted

by Australian Pineapples ambassador and foodie author, Martyna Angell.

Nearly 500 people attended a gala dinner as part of the event.

Pineapples are grown in the Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay, Yeppoon, Coastal North Queensland and the Atherton Tableland regions.

The Lockyer Valley produces $263 million worth of agricultural output a year and has become known as Australia’s salad bowl.

Breeanna Breayers learns most about pineapples during a Sydney promotion in September. Pineapples are generally available all year round.

AUSSIE MELONS SAFE AND TASTY Mike Hindle, of Withcott Seedlings, a major sponsor of the National Horticulture and Innovation Expo with Federal Member for Wright Scott Buchholz during the field days. The Wright electorate produces close to $600 million worth of agricultural output yearly.

Melons Australia has moved to reassure consumers and promote the benefits of eating rockmelon following the isolation and containment of a rare strain of salmonella on one farm in the Northern Territory.

ONION GROWERS VISIT THE MARKET

Food Standards Australia New Zealand coordinated a trade recall of whole rockmelon from Red Dirt Farms near Katherine after a sharp rise in reported cases of salmonella from 14 June to 5 August 2016.

Some 97 salmonella hvittingfoss infection were cases were reported.

Australian Onions members toured the Brisbane Produce Market in September and held its Annual General Meeting in the Brisbane Markets® Fresh Centre training rooms.

The tour was an opportunity for the 35 grower and garlic growers to meet their Wholesalers and see the quality of produce from their competitors.

Australian Melon Association members and one of Queensland’s largest melon growers, Sib Rapisarda, from the Burdekin, near Townsville, said the Australian melon industry is committed to producing the best quality fruit through sustainable farming practices.

About 300 growers supply more than 217,000 tonnes of melons to Australian shoppers annually.

The half day visit included workshops and presentations. fresh source Spring 2016

41

industry

Does your weight measure up?

DON’T LET SHORT MEASURE SHORT CHANGE YOU For Queensland based Wholesalers or Retailers selling prepackaged fruit and vegetables, complying with trade measurement law is a no-brainer.

With the organisation’s latest blitz on reducing non-compliance, Queensland could be seeing much more of the inspectors.

However, if anyone was to give their customer short measure, then they could face some hefty fines and harm to their reputation.

Growers are also responsible for truthfully labelling their fresh produce packaging with the right measure amounts.

There is an organisation that keeps an eye on the situation: the National Measurement Institute (NMI) administers trade measurement law nationally.

NMI inspectors call into the Brisbane Markets® and your local fruit shops from time-to-time to carry out checks and promote compliance.

A National Measurement Institute inspector checks the weight of prepackaged fruit and vegetables.

TIPS FOR MEASURING PREPACKAGED FRUIT AND VEGETABLES National Measurement Institute (NMI) has given some tips for measuring prepacked fruit and vegetables both on the farm, on the wholesale trading floor and instore: Most fruit and vegetables are sold by weight. Some prepackaged goods may be sold by count or bunch. In each case:

FINDING OUT MORE 42

fresh source Spring 2016

• Packages of fruit and vegetables must be marked with the correct measurement.

• Packages must be marked with the name and street address of the packer.

• Packages must not contain less than the stated amount at all times prior to sale. If the item is likely to lose weight/volume over time, the packer must make allowances for such losses.

• Packages must be measured by ‘net’ weight. In other words, the weight of the packaging should not be included in the marked weight.

Weighing herbs at the Brisbane Markets® at one of the many businesses on site who produce pre-packaged fresh produce.

For more information on the National Measurement Institute phone 1300 686 664, or email infotm@measurement.gov.au.

You can also visit our website, www.measurement.gov.au for more information about trade measurement.

WHEN TO EXPECT A VISIT Businesses are visited by the National Measurement Institute (NMI) trade measurement inspectors in response to complaints or queries from consumers, or as part of a compliance inspection program.

Educating traders and making them aware of their rights and obligations under trade measurement legislation is the first step in the compliance process.

For continued breaches, further compliance and enforcement action may be taken where appropriate.

1

2

1 An NMI inspector (left) visits a fruit shop owner to check on the calibration of the store’s scales. .

2 The responsibility for advising the Commonwealth Government on the scientific, technical and legislative requirements of Australia’s national measurement system and for coordinating the system rests with National Measurement Institute..

YOUR BUSINESS, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY It is up to each prepackaged fruit and vegetables Wholesaler or Retailer to have systems in place in order to comply with National Measurement Institute (NMI) requirements.

Nick 0499 003 394

You are responsible for the accuracy and marking of the packages you sell and you need to make sure that staff, systems and equipment comply.

The laws are not in place to weigh you down; on the contrary they are there to protect all parties in the

transaction chain, from suppliers to consumers and everyone else in between.

The laws ensure operational efficiency and provide confidence that transactions are based on fair measure.

Michael 0402 206 976

fresh source Spring 2016

43

business CREDIT SERVICES CHANGED THE WAY WE DID BUSINESS

By Brismark General Manager Gail Woods

Brismark is best lauded for two decisions that have shaped the way the Brisbane Markets® operates today – the establishment of a Credit Service and the purchase of the Brisbane Markets®.

2016

The establishment of a Credit Service in 1973, and 10 years later the Bad Debt Reserve, offers security to Wholesalers and indirectly protects the Growers who supply them.

All of Brismark Members are part of the Credit Service, and since its creation 33 years ago the Bad Debt Reserve now stands at $3.26 million.

These services continue to be the envy of Markets both around Australia and overseas.

Forward Thinking In 1972, a Brisbane Markets® delegation embarked on a World Market Study Tour and returned with a credit control scheme idea that was seen in the Toronto Terminal Market.

The idea to assist Wholesalers handle the large volumes of money being taken daily quickly received the support of the Brismark Board, and on 1 July, stage one was introduced.

Today the Credit Service Committee oversees the operation of the Brismark Credit Service and makes recommendations to the Brismark Board including changes to the Credit Service By-laws and Bad Debt Reserve payouts.

The protection provided by Brismark’s Bad Debt Reserve and its success is well known across the Australian horticulture industry, and the recent review of the Horticulture Code of Conduct saw a number of industry organisations call for the introduction of a Bad Debt Reserve for Growers.

The Bad Debt Reserve continues to be a critical part of Members credit management, supporting their ongoing cash-flow.

It is thanks to the foresight of the Brismark Board back in the early eighties that Members are offered this unique level of protection from bad debtors.

Over the following two years, the scheme was introduced to Wholesalers and Buyers.

In 1983 Brismark introduced a Bad Debt Reserve which continues today to provide industry leading coverage for Brismark Members.

The reserve is funded by Brismark Member contributions with a component allocated to the reserve to maintain an appropriate level.

Essentially if a non-Credit Service Buyer’s business fails owing you money, you face a 100% loss.

If the Buyer is a Credit Service Buyer, the Bad Debt Reserve will pay up to 90% of the value of the debt, usually in the same calendar year.

44

fresh source Spring 2016

Brismark’s Bad Debt Reserve continues to be a critical part of its Members credit management, supporting their ongoing cash-flow.

EFFICIENT SOLUTIONS FOR FRESH PRODUCE COOLING

The issue

Project efficiency

Lindsay’s Brisbane Markets site had performed reliably over the past 20 years using BITZER open drive screw racks, Buffalo Trident LDV condensers and Thermfresh air handlers. However the system no longer suited the proposed operating requirements.

Lindsay Fresh Logistics revealed its first power bill after installation reflected a 29% power saving on the previous year.

®

Long time Brisbane Markets® suppliers, Cool Dynamics, found an energy efficient solution for Lindsay Fresh Logistics, a division of Lindsay Australia, through the installation of a state-of-theart refrigeration system.

It also utilised an operating charge in excess of 2,000 kg of R22, contained in just three systems, and this was going to become dramatically more expensive to keep operational in the future.

Lindsay Australia General Manger Transport Glen Lindsay approached Cool Dynamics (QLD) Director, Bruce Townsend, about updating the company’s primary distribution warehouse at the Brisbane Markets®.

Thinking outside of the box, it was decided that each room would have its own dedicated small charge system which would allow for the other rooms to continue operating on the existing plant as each new system was installed and commissioned.

Lindsay Fresh Logistics needed to update its refrigeration to handle increased product throughput, different operating conditions and to deliver improved operating efficiency.

As yearly temperatures fluctuate, Lindsay Fresh Logistics is averaging a 32% power saving, along with the additional cold storage to handle export market growth.

The new system continues to be supported by Cool Dynamics and BITZER Australia.

Difficulties of upgrading The site needed to keep operating while the plant was upgraded.

The project was completed over six months and included infilled cool room panel by SBP Australia.

Mr Townsend immediately got BITZER Australia involved.

Monitoring the savings: Cool Dynamics came up with an energy efficient solution for Lindsay Fresh Logistics.

Conventional Refrigeration Systems Pressure Coolers Ripening Rooms Freezers

High Humidity Equipment Specialists

Ice Flaking Machines Sales, Installation & Service Regular preventative maintenance agreements

to the fruit and vegetable industry

Dave Smith 0419 348 605 Bruce Townsend 0438 640 001 A/H 24 hours 3309 2115 or email admin@cooldynamicsqld.net.au www.cooldynamicsqld.net.au

Regular 24hr/7 day Competitive

preventative maintenance backup and breakdown service pricing

Refrigeration / Air-conditioning / Electrical Services

Offering years of Australia wide experience in the industry fresh source Spring 2016

45

business

GETTING IMMEDIATE GAINS

By Andrew Malins – Affinity Accounting Plus

Most of the time I write about the importance of taking a long term approach to business planning and how financial success, much like most of life, requires consistency and staying on course.

What happens though if you need or want results right now?

Even if you don’t need it, early wins or improvements can motivate you to keep going with longer term plans and goals.

–– Drivers are typically things that are the pre-cursor to results such as sales enquiries, volume, growth, price, stock turnover, cost of goods sold and efficiency measures.

–– Results would typically focus on sales, margin, overheads, profitability, break-even point, cash flow etc.

3. Set three short term priorities to focus on for the next three months –– Commit to dramatically changing 3 things you do you do for three months.

–– Choose three priorities that will make the biggest difference using numbers.

What do you need to do to make short term gains?

1. Get organised –– Mentally, you need a clear head to be at your best. If there are personal or attitudinal issues holding you back, you need to deal with them and quarantine your business from those issues.

–– Time wise, you need to have everything scheduled and regular so you are not wasting time doing things on the fly or haphazardly.

–– Efficiency, it’s quicker to do things properly and systematically once rather than trying to cut corners.

4. Hold daily, weekly and monthly monitoring meetings with relevant team members –– Get really strict about what must be done today, this week, this month. Be obsessive if you have to.

Like dieting or exercising, you have to start with a plan that is achievable but if you begin with focus and determination, you can achieve a lot from the low hanging fruit.

2. Know your numbers –– If you don’t have a handful of “drivers” and “results” which tell you how your business is travelling, then you are really just hoping for the best and gambling that what you are doing is enough.

–– Trusting your instincts is all well and good but it can only take you so far.

–– To be successful, you need to have a more detailed knowledge of your business and how it’s going.

YOUR BUSINESS MATTERS Evolving Customer requirements Increased competition Finding the right staff Consolidation IT systems

These are just some of the issues that are currently affecting Small and Medium Business.

Affinity Accounting Plus has extensive experience in the Markets Industry and can assist you to prepare and implement an effective Business Plan to watch your Business grow. Affinity Accounting Plus is located in the SouthGate East Commercial Centre in the Brisbane Markets at Rocklea.

07 3725 6100 | www.affinityplus.com.au PO BOX 399 BRISBANE MARKET QLD 4106

46

fresh source Spring 2016

DID YOU KNOW? Brismark has a range of services that it offers its members. These include the Credit Service, recruitment, human resources and industrial relations, training and development, Work Health and Safety, Quality Assurance and food safety, FreshTest (chemical and microbial testing), FreshSpecs (uniform product standards), administration support, fuel cards and debt recovery.

Find out more at www.brismark.com.au.

HORT DIPLOMA COURSE ON OFFER Workers in the horticulture industry have a career path option that many not be aware of that involves hands-on professional support to gain a diploma.

FRESH PRODUCE TESTING COURSE The Fresh Produce Safety Centre (FPSC) is running a professional development event to improve understanding and utilisation of fresh produce testing for food safety.

FPSC identified through industry consultation that there are knowledge gaps and a degree of confusion surrounding testing for microbial and chemical contaminants in fresh produce Quality Assurance (QA).

This event is designed for QA managers in fresh produce businesses, testing service providers, auditors/Certification Bodies, product technologists, trainers/consultants, food regulation managers, food safety system owner representatives and students/academics.

It will be held on Wednesday, 12 October 2016, from 10am to 2pm at the Melbourne Markets Conference Centre, 315 Cooper Street, Epping.

The course will cost $165 and registration is available at http://tinyurl.com/gkqyddz.

Accredited educators Smart City Vocational College is offering horticulture certificates and a diploma course from its Inala Study Hub to up skill the industry and assist with vocational placements.

The AHC50410 Diploma of Horticulture offers practical and classroom based instruction in skills such as pest management and horticulture production planning.

It offers key marketing and people management skills that are required to offer a well-run business and has been lauded as one of the best ways to grow your own business and to watch it thrive.

All courses, including the certification courses on offer, qualify for study assist.

Who should sign up? It’s essentially for people who manage amenity horticultural enterprises. These roles are those that require a range of skills and knowledge across the breadth of the industry or it is for personnel working in horticulture at a level requiring higher technical skills.

The great news is that the courses are not all sitting in a classroom. In fact they involve online learning, self-paced study and optional campus attendance with skype, phone and video conferencing sessions for tutoring.

Grow your own future Enrol Today 1800 BE SMART Shop 44, Inala Plaza, 156 Inala Avenue smartcitycollege.edu.au Maximum course cost is $17,500 VET FEE-HELP is an income contingent loan through the Australian Government Smart City Vocational College Pty Ltd. RTO # 6494

For more information, check out the course brochure at http://tinyurl.com/zunc2g6, visit www.smartcitycollege.edu.au/contact/ or phone 1800 23 76278.

fresh source Spring 2016

47

u t l a a r t g i o n ns o C Brismark!

ON 75 Y EARS OF SERVICE TO THE BRISB CTOR ANE MA E S G N I RKETS® WHOLESAL Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) congratulates the Directors, Management and Staff from now and the past 75 years for their commitment and service to the Brisbane Markets®

BML’s and Brismark’s ties were cemented in 2002 after years of Brismark’s lobbying and an exhausting bid to buy the Brisbane Markets® from the State Government, successfully delivering it into industry ownership.

It’s this strength in industry ownership that keeps BML and Queensland’s Central Market system strong.

These ties are celebrated through a unique Brismark historic display.

Find out more at the Arch Martin Brisbane Markets History Room.

Open 8am to 3pm on business days.

Level 2, Fresh Centre, Brisbane Markets 385 Sherwood Road, Rocklea QLD 4106 www.brisbanemarkets.com.au

Meet the people of Brismark At the end of the 2015/16 financial year, Brismark was supported by 17 full-time, two part-time and four casual employees.

It’s Members and their nominated principals comprised: Alfred E Chave –Tony Joseph

LaManna Bananas Pty Ltd – Brendan Scheiwe

Armstrong Bros Fruit & Veg Merchants – Drew Armstrong

Lavender & Sons – Gary Lavender

Ba Naanez Plus – Terry Hampson

Lind & Sons – Fraser Lind

BG Brisbane – Anthony Gribben

M & D Vegetable Specialists Pty Ltd – Mark Moore

Carter & Spencer Group – Craig Spencer

Marendy & Sons Produce – Mary Marendy

Central Park Produce – Jonathon Goody

Marland Mushrooms – Troy Marland

Consolidated Fruit – Gary O’Shea

Montague Fresh (Qld) Pty Ltd – Hamish Montague

Costa Group – Ryan O’Keeffe

Murray Bros – Stephen Edwards

Cumming Produce Centre – Nick Marentis

Nutrano Trading QLD – Chaise Pensini

Don Alroe & Sons – Paul Alroe

O’Toole Produce – Paul O’Toole

Favco Queensland Pty Ltd – Mark Clarke

Perfection Fresh Brisbane Pty Ltd – Jane Leydecker

Franklin Bros – Robert Hinrichsen

Pershouse Produce – Peter Kedwell

Freshmax Australia – Alan Engeman

Premier Fruits – Dean Gall

Garden Verde – Bassam (Sam) Abou Chahla

Priority Produce – Steven Rosten

Gibb Bros – Nick Gibb

R W Pascoe – Noel Greenhalgh

GNL Produce – Neale Cullen

Rising Sun Produce – Christian Hoath

Gollagher Bros Pty Ltd – Stephen Gollagher

Romeo’s Marketing (QLD) – John Trimboli

Gourmetlink – Doug Rylance

Ross & Co Fruit & Vegetables Pty Ltd – Alex Lazarou

H E Heather & Co – Troy Beaton

Shamrock Marketing – Bob Koning

Ireland 53 – Peter Wakley

So Crisp – Craig Chard

J Allen Pty Ltd – Gary Lower

Sutton Fresh Direct – Rick Sutton

J E Tipper – Sean Russell

Top Class Fruit Supply – John Mastroianni

J H Leavy & Co – Peter Tighe

United Lettuce – Mark Murphy

John Potter Pty Ltd – Bill Mills

United Organics – Martin Meek

Keith Lind Pty Ltd – Simon Bond

Viva Produce – Peter Lahey

King Pak Australia – Jack George

Brismark’s Board of Directors – 2015/16

Gary Lower (Chairman) J Allen Pty Ltd

Tony Joseph (Deputy Chairman) Alfred E Chave Pty Ltd

Mark Murphy (Deputy Chairman) United Lettuce

Mark Clarke Favco Qld Pty Ltd

Drew Armstrong Armstrong Bros

Stephen Edwards Murray Bros

Mark Moore M&D Vegetable Specialists

Noel Greenhalgh R W Pascoe Pty Ltd

Hamish Montague Montague Fresh (Qld) Pty Ltd

Peter Tighe JH Leavy & Co

For more information, visit www.brismark.com.au

Craig Spencer Carter & Spencer Group

Toyota Material Handling is the forklift leader in Australia’s fresh fruit and vegetable markets.

1. Proven performers in the fruit and vegetable markets environment 2. New and used forklift purchase, rental or lease options 3. Superior service and parts back-up and support 4. Massive range with Toyota Material Handling’s world leading products 5. Flexible finance deals through Toyota Finance 6. Stability of dealing with the world’s largest forklift company

To make the smart choice and discover how Toyota Material Handling can make a difference to your operations, contact your local branch.

Hand Pallet Trucks

Power Pallet Trucks

Order Pickers

Walkie Stackers

Toyota Material Handling offer • New Sales • Pre-owned • Rentals • Finance • Service and Parts

Reach Forklifts

Battery Counterbalance

1800 425 438 www.toyotamaterialhandling.com.au

Engine Counterbalance

Skid Steer Loaders