Potato farmers in the Ballarat region of Australia are demanding a pay rise for their produce, claiming McCain Foods does not pay a fair price for the popular mealtime vegetable.
As Jane McNaughton reports for ABC News, last season McCain Foods paid growers an average of 33 cents per kilo of potatoes delivered to the local processing plant, a figure that farmers said was well below the rising cost of production.
A farmer, who asked to remain anonymous, said the local growers’ association had approached the processor on Monday asking for 59 cents per kilo, a 78 per cent price increase. The requested price rise reflected the current cost of production and rising input costs, such as increased fertiliser and fuel prices, and also allowed the farmers to turn a profit.
A McCain Foods spokesperson said the company engaged in constant dialogue with growers throughout the course of the year.
Source: ABC News. Read the full story here
Photo: Farmers in the Ballarat region say rising input costs are leaving them out of pocket. Credit ABC Rural: Jane McNaughton
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