According to the latest figures released by peak vegetable body AusVeg, pumpkin growers have been suffering losses since 2007-08.

AusVeg has developed a series of Veggie Stats documents to profile different crops using data compiled from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences and the Global Trade Atlas.

The research has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

The data showed average domestic pumpkin prices had dropped since 2009-10, with average pumpkin production per farm also falling by 52 per cent from 2008-09 to 2011-12.

AusVeg economist Steve Razdan said Australian pumpkin growers had been struggling for almost a decade in the face of high production costs relative to prices. “The nature of these trends is concerning for growers producing pumpkins, but with the Veggie Stats figures at least we can monitor the industry and provide analysis and insights to growers about cost trends,” Mr Razdan said.

According to the figures, the average price received per tonne of pumpkin in Australia in 2011-12 was $375 — a huge shortfall from the $610 a tonne cost of production.

Mr Razdan said energy efficiency, increased mechanisation and investment in international export markets were just some of the areas that research and development was looking closely into to make the industry more profitable across all fresh produce commodities.

“The information suggests that exporting more pumpkins could be the answer to this current profit drop,” he said. “Export market growth is definitely an opportunity that pumpkin growers should be considering. The majority of Australia’s pumpkin, squash and gourd exports were sent to Singapore in 2012-13, totalling $1.1 million.”

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com