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A grower has been unable to sell 20,000 kilograms of pomegranates with "purely aesthetic" damage to supermarkets after a freak summer hail storm swept through a Victorian growing region.
The storm caused the fruit to develop small blemishes on its skin after hail damaged the young fruit in half of the orchard in the Goulburn Valley in January.
It meant farmers had to watch their fruit grow for two and a half months, knowing about half of their perfectly edible crop would not meet supermarket standards due to the external damage.
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As a result, the grower did not attempt to sell their pomegranates to supermarkets because, from experience, they "knew" their fruit would be rejected.
Another farmer in the same region says they are "dumping" about 30 tonnes of tomatoes a day, due to "slight discolouration, size issues and blemishes on the skin".
Those growers are also not presenting their produce for sale at the supermarkets, as they believe the blemishes will not meet standards.
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Both Woolworths and Coles say they did not reject the produce.
But not all of the fruit has gone to waste.
Farmers Pick, an "imperfect" fruit and vegetable distributor, has saved all of the pomegranates and half of the tomatoes that would otherwise end up in landfills.
The organisation has saved three million kilograms of produce that doesn't meet supermarket standards, from 50 growers across Australia for their home-delivered fresh produce boxes since it was established in 2020.
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Co-founder Josh Ball said he was hearing the frustrations from growers.
"I think the farmers have been constantly squeezed over the past decade to make more beautiful fruit while trying to make the unrealistic beauty standards set for them," Ball said.
"Oranges for example, if they have got a blemish that's bigger than five per cent of the fruit on the skin, then they're rejected.
"And that'll be the reason why it'll be in a Farmers Pick box and not on a supermarket shelf."
He said Farmers Pick didn't take fruit and vegetables that were inedible and the produce only had "purely aesthetic" damages.
"It doesn't affect the taste, which is the most confusing part," he said.
Ball said it would only get more challenging with climate change and increasing natural disasters.
"Something that we're seeing is that there's not many young people who are thinking, 'I want to be a farmer'," he said.
Farmers Pick says it is rapidly growing because it can supply directly from farmers, "cut a few steps in the supply chain" and charge customers about 30 per cent less than supermarkets.
"I think with the cost of living people are being forced to really think about how they're doing their shopping, buying their food and how they're eating," Ball said.
A Coles spokesperson said it strives to meet customer's expectations when it came to quality produce.
"We work very closely with our growers to determine the approximate quantities of produce we expect to purchase ahead of time so we can give customers confidence that they will be able to buy in-season produce at great prices," the spokesperson said.
"It also gives growers the confidence to grow crops with certainty they will be able to meet demand while not creating an oversupply.
"When entering agreements with our growers, we decide on specifications ahead of time."
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A Woolworths spokesperson said it regularly reviewed its produce requirements with suppliers to ensure the fruit and vegetables going into their stores met customer expectations.
"Our produce requirements are adaptable and respond to the quantity and availability of fruit and vegetables in the market, which is affected by seasonality, supply and weather," they said.
"This allows us to work with growers to meet customer demand, while also reducing food waste from unsold fruit and veg in our stores."
An Aldi spokesperson said their market buy range was "open spec".
"This means that the fruit delivers the same quality taste, but may be of different shapes and sizes or have little blemishes that make them less beautiful, but just as delicious," they said.
"Beyond this, there are a number of ways Aldi supports its grower partners including long-term partnerships, last-minute specials created in partnership to support growers to sell excess produce following favourable growing conditions as well as changing pack or produce sizing and cosmetic markings requirements into support market conditions and reduce waste."
Supermarket inquiry
The chief executives of Woolworths and Coles will face questions about price gouging, high profits, and their conduct towards suppliers such as farmers when they appear before a Senate inquiry into supermarket pricing next week.
The inquiry has been running since late last year, and held three public hearings last month, when it heard from the likes of farmers, agricultural bodies, and consumer groups.
Both supermarkets posted full-year profits above $1 billion last year as grocery prices rose during the cost-of-living crisis.
Woolworths and Coles hold a combined market share of more than 65 per cent in Australia's supermarket sector.
A recent Australian Consumer Competition Commission (ACCC) survey found young people and low-income earners are spending up to one-quarter of their income on groceries.
It also found others are skipping or sacrificing meals to feed their children.
A review of the food and grocery code of conduct is urging hefty fines be imposed against major supermarkets for mistreating their suppliers.
