Ausveg have slammed a “lacklustre” response from the Jamie Oliver Group, relating to an ongoing dispute with a leading Australian supermarket chain.
The peak body for Australian vegetable growers last week called on Oliver to support its stance against retail giant Woolworths, who have asked growers to contribute an additional A$0.40 (US$0.37) per crate of supplied produce to help fund a new promotional campaign featuring the celebrity chef.
Ausveg chief executive Richard Mulcahy said the move could cost some growers hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, on top of the contributions they already pay for marketing.
In a letter addressed to Ausveg late last week, Guy Mottershead, chief executive of the Jamie Oliver Retail Group, said while Oliver sympathised with struggling growers, it was not his place to hold Woolworths to ransom.
“As I’m sure you know, Jamie is essentially an ‘employee’ of Woolworths and as such he has no sway regarding the commercial direction or negotiations that the Woolworths business takes,” Mottershead told Ausveg, according to a report by SmartCompany.“That said, no plea for help should be left unheard. Jamie, naturally, is concerned when he hears about small producers suffering financial hardship and your letter will be discussed with Woolworths further at our next senior level meeting to ensure that farmers are completely clear about the aims of the programme.”
Mottershead said Woolworths had assured Oliver the additional contributions were voluntary, with many growers seemingly happy to contribute.
Ausveg public affairs manager William Churchill took umbrage with this claim, suggesting the representative body had been inundated with confidential complaints about the contributions from growers across the country.He said the Jamie Oliver Group had let slip an opportunity to take a stronger position on the issue.
“Ausveg is disappointed in the lacklustre response from the Jamie Oliver Group,” Churchill said in a statement. “This is in stark contrast to the position Mr Oliver took in 2012 where he signed an open letter to The Times objecting to the price of milk. It’s sad that a similar stand has not been made here. Growers have seen this levy by Woolworths as a slap in the face and a double dip into their wallets and are rightfully outraged.”
