Consumers & Markets

This overview fact sheet provides an introduction to the Consumers & Marketing sub-program publications and the Australian vegetable market.

The attached factsheet includes statistics on the volume and value of vegetables sold in the Australian market, the channels used to distribute vegetable products to consumers and vegetable product categories.

The C&M sub-program has developed a range of outputs under the VEG INSIGHTS banner. These publications aim to help vegetable growers and their supporting supply chains gain a better understanding of how vegetable markets work and the supply chain options that service these markets.

Factsheet : Consumers & Markets Overview

The Vegetable Market
About 3.2 billion tonnes of locally produced vegetables and 280,000 tonnes of imported vegetables are sold in the Australian market each year as fresh and processed product into retail and foodservice channels.

The Supply Chain and Markets
Vegetables flow into the market in fresh, fresh cut, canned and frozen forms before reaching the consumer. The retail channels sell 73% of fresh vegetable volumes and 32% of all processed vegetable volumes. The foodservice channels use 21% of fresh products and 65% of processed vegetables.

Retail Outlets
About 70% of the total household food expenditure is spent in retail food outlets. Retail channels in the Australian vegetable market includes Supermarkets, Greengrocers, Convenience stores and Farmers Markets.

Foodservice
About 25-30% of the household food expenditure is spent on food prepared and typically eaten away from home and provided by foodservice operators. Foodservice operators combine the food and beverage ingredients they buy to make the meals, snacks, or drinks for consumers.

Export
Australia is considered a niche, high quality exporter of vegetables and has some supply advantages in the world market due to its ability to supply in the counter seasons to the northern hemisphere. The biggest market for Australian vegetable exports is Asia with the key markets being Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. This is followed by New Zealand the USA and the EU.

Acknowledgements :
This factsheet has been facilitated by Horticulture Australia Limited (HAL), in partnership with AUSVEG, through the National Vegetable Research and Development Levy. The Australian Government provides matched funding for all HAL R&D activities.

Disclaimer :
This business case was produced and edited by RMCG (ph: 03-9882-2670). RMCG produces these business cases with the expectation that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use. Before relying on or altering any business practices, users should carefully evaluate the accuracy and relevance of the information for their purpose and should obtain appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.