28 June 2024

Brought to you by Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor www.olivebiz.com.au

Today's Top Story

Supermarkets to be fined if they mistreat suppliers, government confirms

Coles and Woolworths will be among the supermarket chains captured by a new mandatory code of conduct for dealing with suppliers. (ABC News)

The federal government has confirmed it will impose new obligations on large supermarket chains to treat their suppliers fairly, enforced by hefty fines. In a move that has been anticipated for several months, the voluntary code of conduct the supermarkets wrote themselves a decade ago will now become mandatory with tougher prohibitions against making unreasonable demands or threats to suppliers.

Australia

The grocery code of conduct overhaul could mean good things for suppliers. What about Aussies at the check-out?

Consumers might not feel the effects of a mandatory grocery conduct overhaul, as a peak consumer policy body says it will watch to ensure supermarkets don't pass on any flow-on costs to Australians.

Watch - Olive Gold: The skyrocketing price of olive oil

Australians love olive oil and are second only to Mediterranean countries in their consumption of it. But right now, the price of olive oil is skyrocketing, and consumers want to know why.

This ABC Landline report actually provides some really good information, covering olive oil production both in Australia and globally, the current supply issues, the Australian standard and why extra virgin olive oil is worth paying for.

Renew your AOA membership for continued discount eligibility

AOA membership renewals for 2024-2025 will be emailed in early July, so keep an eye on your Inbox and please action payment within the invoice period.

Along with industry advocacy and representation at government level, membership of the national peak industry body, the Australian Olive Association (AOA), provides financial members with a wealth of direct benefits, including:

heavily discounted rates on Australian International Olive Awards entries and AOA event registrations;
the opportunity to participate in the OliveCare® Code of Best Practice program, which provides assistance with queries on grove management, production, storage and other quality parameters; also access to the OliveCare® certification program;
access to the AOA website’s Members Lounge and information on a broad range of industry-relevant topics, including step-by-step labelling guides and a readable version of the Australian Standard 5264-2011.

If you don’t receive your renewal in the first week of July, please contact Liz at secretariat@australianolives.com.au for a replacement copy and then pay promptly to ensure your continued eligibility for these and many more significant member discounts.

Reminder: The substantial member discounts for Australian International Olive Awards entries can only be applied for current financial members, so make sure you’ve renewed before you sign up!

Not an AOA member yet?

Find out more and apply to join at the AOA website - www.australianolives.com.a u - or contact Administration Manager Elizabeth Bouzoudis at secretariat@australianolives.com.au.

Got something to sell? Or want to buy? Go direct to your target market – olive growers and producers

If you’ve got something industry-related to sell, you can reach your target market directly with Olivebiz Classifieds. Our online Classifieds service is an easy and inexpensive solution to advertising your unwanted equipment – or a grove for lease, like Brad in Victoria. And if there’s something you’re looking for, it’s the ideal way to get the message out loud and clear to your peers and industry associates – the most likely to have what you need.

Olivebiz Classifieds cost just $40 for AOA members ($100 for non-members), including a text ad and link through to either your web page or images hosted on our site. And you don’t need to be a tech-head: just send us your info and we’ll post it up for you.

Olivebiz Classifieds are online now at www.olivebiz.com.au/classifieds. To arrange a listing, contact Gerri at editor@olivegrower.com.au.

Fears for water supply for West Australian growers with flow down by 34 per cent around Gingin

Declining rainfall and water flow data released by the West Australian government has raised concerns about the future of water in one of the state's key food-growing regions. Water Minister Simone McGurk said new water management measures would be put in place in the Gingin region, north of Perth, after the government's latest evaluation found a risk to surface and groundwater due to declining rainfall.

Understanding the bird flu outbreak

In recent months, an alarming outbreak of bird flu has been discovered on several farms in Victoria and Sydney. In this article, Australian Farmers unpacks the impact this outbreak has on egg supply, as well as provide insights into the efforts being taken to manage and mitigate the situation.

Low impact camping at Gilgooma

A father-daughter duo is embarking on a bold venture to offer curious visitors a front row seat to a day in the life of a traditional farmer. From lamb-marking to planting winter crops, Steve Goldsmith and his daughter Pip have swung open the farm gate to Gilgooma, an 11,500-acre working property and now a farm-stay north of Coonamble, NSW.

Some ideas for social types looking at value-adding your business.

Have your say on Olive Industry Communications and Extension program

The Australian Olive Association (AOA) operates a communications and extension program for the benefit of our industry as an R&D project under the Hort Innovation-run Olive Fund.

They need your feedback from time to time to help measure the impact of the program and ensure that each of the resources is delivering benefits for producers. Collected via an annual survey, your input also assists in identifying opportunities to improve industry communications and activities.

The survey asks questions about various aspects of the communications and extension program. All answers remain confidential and will only be reported as aggregated numbers or anonymous comments.

If you have yet to take this year’s survey, the AOA would greatly appreciate your participation. It only takes five minutes and your input is important to help shape future content and activities under the program.

You can access the survey here.

This survey is part of the ongoing project Olive industry communications and extension program (OL22000), a strategic levy investment in the Hort Innovation Olive Fund, promoting world-best practice in grove management and extending the outcomes of R&D investments to the olive industry to increase productivity, quality and profitability.

Opportunities

SA: ERF Small Business Energy Grants Round 2

Small businesses can soon apply to access grants to help invest in more energy efficient equipment or make improvements that optimise energy usage and costs. Part of the SA Government's Economic Recovery Fund, the Small Business Energy Grants program provides grants from $2,500-$50,000 as matched contributions.

Applications will open in August 2024 on a first-come-first serve basis to SA small businesses which consume less than 160MWh of electricity per year.

Find out more and register your interest here.

2024 Regional Telecommunications Review

The 2024 Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee wants to hear about your experiences in accessing and using telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Sharing your views and experiences will help the Committee gauge the adequacy of telecommunications services, and determine current and future needs. They’re also keen to hear your innovative ideas about how to improve telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote Australia.

Submission or survey

Input can be provided by a written submission or a short survey, with submissions closing on Wednesday, 31 July.

Find out more and have your say here.

Events

Webinar: Our new right to disconnect

The global shift to remote working during the pandemic arguably led to ‘availability creep’ and unspoken expectations that workers must be accessible to their workplace at all hours. But Australian law is set to redefine these boundaries.

Presented by researcher and Senior Lecturer in Law Dr Gabrielle Golding, the July edition of The University of Adelaide’s Research Tuesdays events will look at how the new right to disconnect could affect you and your workers.

More information and register here.

Entries now open for 2024 Australian International Olive Awards (AIOA)

Australia’s premier olive competition, with international status and recognition, the 2024 Australian International Olive Awards (AIOA) is now open for entries.

Benefits of entering the AIOA include:

Entries assessed and awarded on merit by a team of internationally trained judges.
All entrants receive comprehensive judging feedback.
Successful judging provides eligibility for OliveCare® certification.
Unprecedented opportunity for international recognition of winning products and producers.
The comprehensive Results Book is sent out to all entrants and stakeholders, providing an impressive marketing tool for all medal and award winners.

· The opportunity to purchase the professional product images from the Results Book at only $35 plus GST – a fraction of the price of your own professional photography.

New for 2024 …

This year’s competition offers even more benefits for entrants, including a Producer Index Listing in the Results Book to help buyers and consumers find your award-winning products. The listing will also be accessible as a reference page on the Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oil Everyday website

There are also new decals for Best of Class and Best of Show winners, and a Platinum Medal has been introduced to recognise exceptionally high-scoring entries.

Find out more and enter here, or if you need assistance with your entries please contact Competition Convenor & Chief Steward Trudie Michels on 0419 031 527 or aioa@australianolives.com.au.

New Zealand

Horror season for many olive oil producers

Many New Zealand olive oil producers are having a horror season, and hopes they could plug supply gaps because of a worldwide drought-affected olive oil shortage, have been dashed. Growers in Northland, Waiheke, Auckland and Kāpiti have had good production and are still pressing olives now, but for many others the season, which starts in March, has come to an abrupt halt.

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International

Bank of Spain attributes ongoing inflation to soaring olive oil prices

Officials at the Bank of Spain said high olive oil prices are one reason inflation, especially food inflation, remains more elevated in Spain than elsewhere in Europe.

Which is no doubt why …

Spanish households purchase more sunflower oil than olive oil for the first time

Falling olive oil sales are linked to reduced production and elevated prices, whereas sunflower oil has become more affordable during the same timeframe.

Leading to …

Spain to eliminate tax on olive oil to ease price jump

Spain's leftist government said Friday it will remove the value-added tax on olive oil, a staple of Spanish cuisine which has soared in price due to a severe drought that has caused a sharp drop in the country's olive harvest.

Olive oil is being included in the list of "basic necessities" which are exempt from the tax. We couldn’t agree more!

Olive oil production doubles in Greece, prices fall

In a few months, the olive oil market will be almost completely normalised domestically and internationally. The export activity of the major companies will also be restored. The president of SEVITEL (Association of Greek Olive Oil Standardisation Industries) stated that the expected Greek olive oil production this year will range from 280,000 to 300,000 tons, approximately twice the previous year's output.

Friday Olive Extracts – send us YOUR news

We’re now well into 2024 and Friday Olive Extracts (FOE) team continues to bring all the latest industry news and events to your Inbox every week. THE place to share olive industry news, event details and reminders, our industry e-newsletter keeps growing in popularity and we now have nearly 4000 subscribers across the globe. If you’re not one of them, you can sign up here.

And please remember that FOE is YOUR e-newsletter, so we’re keen to receive your news and help spread the word. Just email your information to Editor Gerri Nelligan at editor@olivegrower.com.au - it’s free, and the best way to reach your fellow industry members!

Rising olive oil imports contribute to Spain’s trade deficit with Argentina

While Spain’s agricultural trade deficit fell by 33 percent between 2022 and 2023, olive oil imports increased by nearly 230 percent due to a poor harvest and rising prices.

Turkey eases export ban following intense lobbying

Turkish producers will be able to export 50,000 tons of bulk olive oil until November. With forecasts of bumper harvest, the sector wants the ban lifted completely.