Fresh veg imports not as common as we think

An education campaign may be needed, with research showing Australians significantly overestimate the proportion of imported fresh vegetables available on supermarket shelves.

The Project Harvest consumer research study, commissioned by Horticulture Innovation Australia, showed that more than 40% of Australians believe at least a third of fresh vegetables at their local store are imported, while statistics show the true figure to be much lower.

“The Australian vegetable industry had a gross value of production of $3.3 billion in 2014–15, while the total value of all fresh vegetables imported into Australia over the same period was $78 million — only 2.3% of Australia’s value of production of vegetables for human consumption,” said AUSVEG spokesperson Shaun Lindhe.

“While local growers are facing heavy competition from cheap imports, right now these imports are mostly processed vegetable products or vegetables imported for processing. The vast majority of fresh vegetables available in stores comes from Australian growers.”

The Project Harvest study has also found that the misperception was even more prevalent among younger consumers, with shoppers aged 18–35 more likely to overestimate the availability of imported produce than the average consumer.

“Interestingly, more than half of this younger demographic of shoppers think that the majority of fresh vegetables sold in supermarkets are imported,” said Lindhe.