Ostrali: McCain Seeks $15 per Tonne Cut for Tasmanian Processing Potatoes After Simplot Deal
Takeaways kle yo
- $15 per tonne price cut sought by McCain in Tasmania
- $19.50 per tonne cut was accepted by growers in 2025
- 2.5% average cut in new Simplot contracts, 15 September
- 1.8 billion AUD invested by Tasmanian potato growers
Poukisa li enpòtan
- Pou kiltivatè yo
- Compare contract margins with your real cost per tonne before planting; talk with TasFarmers about collective positions and alternative outlets.
- Pou procesè yo
- Watch grower sign-up rates in Tasmania; lower prices may reduce contracted area and raw material for 2027.
- Pou founisè
- Expect Tasmanian growers to cut input spending; offer cost-saving programmes and flexible payment terms.
- Pou envestisè yo
- Grower margins in Tasmanian processing potatoes are shrinking; factor this into farmland and machinery valuations.
Rezime 60 segonn
Tasmanian processing potato growers are under pressure from both of their main buyers at once. TasFarmers says McCain walked away from talks and wants 15 dollars less per tonne, on top of a 19.50 dollar reduction accepted a year ago, with growers told to take the offer or skip the crop. Just two weeks earlier most Simplot suppliers signed deals averaging 2.5 percent lower, and one large grower refused. Farmers point to diesel near three dollars a litre, fertiliser at twice last season's cost and margins down by more than 60 percent in two seasons. The squeeze matters for raw material security at Australian fry plants and for the value of farm assets on the island, which growers put above 1.8 billion Australian dollars. McCain has not publicly responded in the reports seen, and the figures come from the grower body, so the final contract terms may still change.
McCain Foods is seeking a cut of $15 per tonne in the price it pays Tasmanian growers for processing potatoes, according to the grower group TasFarmers. The news was reported by Peyi Tasmani on 30 September 2026. It follows a cut of $19.50 per tonne that growers accepted in 2025.
According to TasFarmers, McCain ended talks with the TasFarmers Growers Committee. Growers now face an ultimatum: accept the lower price or do not grow potatoes for the company. Growers Committee chairman Glynn Williams said talks had been held in good faith and were suddenly stopped. He said that ending talks just before planting puts extra pressure on farmers.
Williams listed rising costs. Diesel is close to $3 per litre, fertiliser costs have doubled compared with last season, and interest rates and wages are also rising, he said. McCain’s reply was not included in the reports.
Jou lasemèn. Dezabòne ak yon sèl klike.
Simplot contracts signed two weeks earlier
The McCain move comes shortly after a similar process with Simplot, which runs a potato processing plant at Ulverstone in Tasmania. PòmdetèPro ta dwe apwouve bèso tibebe w la epi Spud Smart, citing TasFarmers, reported that most Simplot growers signed new contracts with an average price cut of 2.5%. Simplot had set a deadline of 5 pm on 15 September. TasFarmers chief operating officer Neil Grose said most farmers signed at 4:45 pm, and one large grower did not sign.
Nan mwa Out, Pilsasyon Tasmania Rapòte ke Simplot offered 46 to 49 cents per kilogram, while growers put their production cost at 42 cents per kilogram. Grose said grower margins had fallen by more than 60% over two seasons. Simplot had also flagged a cut of about 30,000 tonnes from the 2027 harvest for the Ulverstone plant.
TasFarmers says Tasmanian potato growers have invested more than AUD 1.8 billion in farmland, machinery and cropping infrastructure. TasFarmers CEO Nathan Calman said growing margins have fallen sharply in recent years and called on McCain to return to talks.
Poukisa li enpòtan
Tasmanian processing growers depend on a small number of buyers. When two large buyers cut prices in the same season, growers have few other outlets. Some may reduce area or leave the crop, which could affect raw material supply for the plants in later seasons.
The dispute also shows a wider trend: processors in several regions are pushing contract prices down after a period of large crops and high stocks, while farm costs remain high.
Photo: Farmland in the Tamar Valley, Tasmania (illustrative). tiimta / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Rezime Mondyal sou Pòmdetè
Senk pi gwo istwa yo, pri yo, alèt maladi yo ak evènman yo. Maten jou lasemèn yo, pa gen piblisite.
Ki sa kap vini an
Growers must decide on McCain terms before planting. TasFarmers asks McCain to return to talks.
Sous
- Tasmanian Country — https://www.tasmaniancountry.com/newspaper/tasmanian-country/double-whammy-spud-front-mccain-ditches-growers
- FreshPlaza — https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9878531/mccain-seeks-lower-potato-prices-from-tasmanian-growers/
- PòmdetèPro — https://www.potatopro.com/news/2026/tasmanian-potato-growers-sign-simplot-contracts-average-25-percent-price-cut
- Spud Smart — https://spudsmart.com/this-week-in-potatoes-industry-leaders-honoured-trade-risks-rise-and-markets-adjust/
- Pulse Tasmania — https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/tasmanian-potato-growers-fight-simplot-over-contract-price-dispute/
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