McCain Foods is cutting off its nose

In ending collective bargaining on its potato supplies, McCain Foods is cutting off its nose to spite its face, Tasmanian farmers claimed today.

“Collective bargaining is not only about negotiating potato prices, it is about discussing all aspects of the potato industry for the common good,” Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association chief executive Jan Davis said today.

“For the processor, achieving economies is not about screwing down producers on prices or seeking to divide and conquer by hand-picking those you will or will not deal with. Collective bargaining provides the opportunity and the forum for the processor and its suppliers to talk about all aspects of their businesses: harvesting, productivity, market conditions, tonnages, etc,” she said.

“It is a communications exercise in which people share ideas and concerns so that they can work with a common resolve. It is in no-one’s interest to create an environment of fear, jealousy and enmity.”

“If McCain is facing adverse competition from imports, then share the problem, share the burden,” Ms Davis said.

She said that in 2004 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission granted authority for TFGA to bargain collectively with processors on behalf of Tasmanian potato growers for this very reason – it was seen to be in the overall best interests of the industry.

“It is short-sighted for McCain to throw this advance out the window,” Ms Davis said

“We are all grown-ups. Farmers are used to suffering the pains of market downturns; but that pain needs to be shared fairly and squarely – and there needs to be transparency in the process,” she said.