WA CITRUS
The WA Horticulture Update was held in Perth during November.
f KEYNOTE speaker, Prof David Hughes talks about trends in consumer purchasing.
What did you learn at the WAHU?
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BY BRONWYN WALSH INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, WA CITRUS
our WA citrus growers plus the citrus research team attended the WA Horticulture Update in Perth in early November. What follows is some of what they learned. 1. What were some highlights for you? The presentations encapsulated the real problems right now, being labour issues, wastage, packaging materials, costs and returns, consumption patterns and consumer trending. “The talk by ‘Dr Food’, Professor David Hughes, was very insightful. There was a lot of future casting based on what was going on in overseas markets, which as growers, we will need to make changes to the way we do business if it is to survive into the future.”
Trends included the acceleration of consumers buying on-line during COVID, consumer consciousness about air freight and its related impact on the environment, similarly packaging, chemical use and “social license” for food production. The packaging panel session highlighted the different components of the future of packaging with multiple goals of reducing landfill of single use plastics (non recyclable), preventing food tampering and extending shelf life. “Having the video presentations in between speakers/panels was very well done. It gave an overview and insight into how different growers of different crops manage their businesses.” The videos are available on DPIRD’s YouTube channel. “The field trip was really good, particularly RichGro, seeing converting food waste to an energy plant and incorporating it into their garden product. Their business model is very clever.
f TANKS where gas accumulates after food waste has been processes, RichGro.
WA Grower SUMMER 2021
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