Local farmers left reeling after Coles and Woolies strip products from shelves

Australian farmers are calling on Coles and Woolworths to reverse recent decisions to strip some locally grown products from their shelves in what one grower has described as a “ruthless” move.

Coles has ended its arrangement with Coffs Harbour, NSW wholesaler Golden Dawn to supply the supermarket with locally grown bananas, cucumbers and pumpkins. The supermarket’s bananas will instead be supplied by North Queensland growers.

Woolworths has confirmed it will stop stocking Tasmanian beef after ending its arrangement with a local slaughterhouse JBS Longford.

‘I fear we will lose a lot of farmers’

Paul Shoker, a local Cavendish banana grower at Shoker Family Farm, was made aware of an issue with the Coles arrangement “about 12 months ago” via wholesaler Golden Dawn.

“Coles made it very clear there was basically an end date, which is late October 2026. There was never a quality issue, there was never a supply issue, so that’s why it was so disappointing,” he told nine.com.au.

Shoker wasn’t privy to the details of the negotiations, nor were any other growers, he said, with the supermarket giant choosing to deal with the wholesaler directly.

“They refuse to meet growers, because they don’t believe they’re responsible to the growers,” he said.

“I wish I could be that ruthless in my business. It affects our livelihoods.”

Shoker said he and other growers had based expansion plans on the belief the Coles arrangement would continue long-term. He said approximately 33 Coffs Harbour businesses have been affected by the decision, which impacts bananas, cucumbers and pumpkins.

“Coles was actually very encouraging. They encouraged growers to invest into their production area. That’s exactly what we did. For the last decade, we’ve expanded our production area. We make business decisions for the next 10, 15 years,” Shoker said.

He fears for the “geographical diversity” of the banana industry, with Coles relying on a single source for its bananas.

“Ninety-five per cent of all bananas grow in North Queensland, so that’s a huge risk for the business,” he said.

Under the new arrangement, even Coles locations in Coffs Harbour will be supplied by North Queensland banana farms.

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“Within a 20km radius of my farm are two Coles stores, so the total distance is less than 30km to service those two stores,” Shoker said.

“How on earth can somebody do it from 2,000km away and it be cheaper than what we can do?”

He fears for the future of farming in the region.

“The reality is, most farmers are on their knees. I fear that we will lose a lot of farmers, not just here but in other parts of the state as well,” Shoker said.

“I speak to farmers all up and down the coast, everywhere in New South Wales. If we value agriculture, we have to address how we pay our farmers.”

Local MP calls on Coles to reverse the decision

The matter has attracted the attention of Federal Member for Page, Kevin Hogan, who took to Facebook to call on Coles to reverse its decision. A petition echoing this has so far attracted over 15,000 signatures.

“We’re just hoping that Coles reconsider this and have a look at this and go, ‘Look, yeah, we get it. We’ve made an error.’ Or, ‘We can see our customers would like local produce, we should support local industries where we operate, and we’ll reverse the decision.’ That’s what I hope they do,” Hogan told nine.com.au.

A Coles spokesperson told nine.com.au it recognises this is a disappointing decision and understand the impact it may have on Golden Dawn and the Mid North Coast growers it works with.

“We regularly review our supply chain to ensure we are delivering the best value, quality and availability for our customers,” they said.

“Coles will continue to source 100 per cent of its bananas from Australian growers. This decision is part of a broader change to Coles’ fresh produce supply model.

“As part of that change, we are transitioning away from direct-to-store produce arrangements and towards a more consistent operating model across our store network.”

Woolworths to stop selling Tasmanian beef

Woolworths recently announced a similar decision in relation to its Tasmanian beef. The supermarket confirmed it will exit its service kill relationship with JBS Longford in an effort to streamline processing.

Under the current arrangement, Tasmanian-reared beef is shipped to the mainland for packaging, before being returned to Tasmanian stores for sale.

A Woolworths spokesperson told nine.com.au the retailer is mindful of the impact of any changes on local farmers. They said Woolworths is working directly with those affected to support them through this transition period into 2027.

“We support key growing regions in Tasmania and buy fresh produce, including cheese, eggs, chicken, seafood, tomatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli, beans, and potatoes,” they added.

Local state MP Guy Barnett has called the decision “beyond disappointing” and is urging locals to support the industry by purchasing local beef.

“Tassie farmers produce some of the best beef in the world,” Barnett said in a statement shared on Facebook.

“I encourage Tasmanians to get behind them, support small businesses and buy local beef from your local butcher or independent supermarket.”