In This Edition
Hello everyone! Welcome to this month's edition of Fresh Perspective, Pershouse Produce's monthly e-newsletter.

This month we introduce you to Pershouse's Quality Manager, David Down, who has been toiling away in preparation for our audit. Many of you will have spoken with David recently in his quest to ensure all the 'boxes are ticked'.

Also in this edition are our monthly round-ups of the produce scene, and we have also added some new features to our website www.pershouse.com.au that you might like to take a look at.

And I will apologise in advance..the joke this month was my doing and not Peter Kedwell's.

Enjoy!

Staff Profile - David Down
Over the last few weeks many of you will have been in contact with David Down, Pershouse's Quality Manager, as he prepares for one of our annual audits.

And, while this part of the job is onerous, David loves the opportunity he gets to actually chat with some of Pershouse's grower network.

"Quality management is a job that involves loads of paperwork which can be tedious at best. But someone has to do it!" said David.

"So when I get a chance to actually talk to growers - even if it is chasing up paperwork, it's a nice change from just managing the volumes of testing on their behalf."

However David really is no stranger to working with growers, having been at the Brisbane Markets since 1985.

"After moving to Australia from New Zealand in 1983, we settled in Brisbane. I started work at Baird's Produce and stayed with them when Peter Kedwell bought the business."

"I did a short stint with Chiquita, but couldn't wait to get back to A S Barr's. Like most things you don't realise what you've got until it's gone!"

"I have worked mainly on the distribution end of produce in warehousing and also driving forklifts around the Markets."

"Eventually I moved into Quality Assurance and I have been doing this for over four years now." said David.

"Quality is an interesting area. The audits are stressful, but it is just a part of this industry now."

Outside Pershouse Produce, David would arguably be the biggest All Black fan in Australia.

"I love my rugby and just live for Bledisloe Cups. Cameron (Kedwell) and I have a longstanding rivalry as he is a massive Wallabies supporter. The banter around Bledisloe time is great fun." David laughs.

"But I love all sport - especially if the Kiwi's win!" says David (the temptation to slot in a sheep joke here is absolutely overwhelming. Lucky for David I am a professional! - Ed)

And of course, David is a family man - married with two daughters and a grandaughter.

Market Review - Vegetables
What a difference a day can make in the fresh produce industry?

According to Pershouse's vegetable specialists Alwyn and Adley, there is still a little bit more uncertainty to come as this unusual weather pattern continues to evolve.

"The wild weather of late has certainly made an impact on some Queensland crops. With severe storm activity, coupled with higher than average rainfall, many crops have quickly become short." said Alwyn.

"It seems like only last week there was a glut of capsicum on the Market, and now capsicums are very short and very expensive."

The rain, compounded by the in-between season gap has resulted in a shortage of capsicums, and demand is still strong.

"We are waiting for the Bundaberg, Stanthorpe and South Australian capsicum season to get going, which should see supplies replenished as December rolls in." says Adley.

Other crops that are also weather affected include silverbeet, beans and lettuce. There is plenty of fancy lettuce (Hydro) around, but all varieties such as Cos and Iceberg have been knocked around by the storms and rain.

Sweet corn, cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, chokoes and celery are good value buying at present. Broccoli is also in steady supply out of Victoria and the Darling Downs, though this might lighten up in the next few weeks.

Market Review - Heavy Produce
On the heavy produce front, Pershouse's Steve Rosten believes Jap pumkin is still going to be short right up until the New Year.

"Jap pumpkin prices are still up, while supplies remain short. We are still waiting for the local supply from Gatton and the Lockyer Valley to arrive at the Markets, but this won't have any impact at Market level until at least Christmas, but more likely into the New Year." said Steve.

Onions are also high in price.

"Rain has certainly affected the onion crop, which has been compounded by an unusual short season."

"On the flip-side, washed potatoes out of South Australia are really excellent quality at present. The washed potatoes out of Adelaide are looking really good."

Market Review - Fruit
You can tell it is nearly Christmas just by the arrival of Exotic Fruit on the Market.

Beautiful Starfruit and Rambutans are now available, and what would summer be without Lychees?

There are also some really nice Peaches and other Stonefruit varieties out of Stanthorpe available. And, with the light KP Mango season, now is a perfect time to look at the other summer fruits as alternatives for the table.

"The crop of Kensigton Pride mangoes is very light on this year," said Chris Georgiou, "but there are still plenty of R2E2's available, which should keep the mango lovers satisfied."

Bananas are starting to ease back in price after a higher than average price spike for this time of year, according to Cameron Kedwell.

"With the shortages of other fruits like mangoes, for example, bananas really held their price for this time of year."

Tomatoes are also holding steady with demand being mixed.

"This inclement weather has really been causing havoc. The quality of tomatoes has still been fairly good, considering the weather, but demand has certainly been up and down." said Rob Mann.

"I still see some instability right up until December with Bowen finishing up and the weather still unpredictable."

"But the hotter weather will also mean that there will be more truss tomatoes around as the greenhouses release more product into the Market." says Rob.

Check out the Pershouse story online.
We have added some new features to our website www.pershouse.com.au.

This month we have made our video presentaion available by direct streaming from our website.

The video presentation will tell you all about Pershouse Produce - you might even see a few familiar faces amongst the pictures.

We hope you enjoy it.

www.pershouse.com.au/infomercial.html

November Funnies...
A joke for you...

A little girl asked her mother:

'How did the human race appear?"

The mother answered, "God made Adam and Eve; they had children; and so was all mankind made."

Two days later the girl asked her father the same question. The father answered:

"Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved."

The confused girl returned to her mother and said "Mum, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?"

The mother answered "Well dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your father told you about his."

Boom Boom.

If you have a story or article that you think would make a great addition to Fresh Perspective contact;

Laura Koman
Ph: 07 3379 3034
Email: laura@pershouse.com.au