WOOLWORTHS has cancelled a "critically important" meeting between Australian farmers and 40 international buyers, the growers' peak body claims, in retaliation for their public protest against being made to pay for an advertising campaign starring celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver.
Ausveg said the supermarket had announced cancellation of the visit by Asian buyers at its Sydney distribution centre on the same day Fairfax Media reported Woolworths was charging farmers to cover the cost of its "Jamie's Garden" campaign.
"I think it's petulant behaviour, I think it's churlish, it's mean-spirited," Ausveg chief executive Richard Mulcahy said.
“It's fairly obvious it's linked to the adverse media they're receiving about Jamie Oliver."
Woolworths confirmed the meeting had been cancelled. Communications manager Russell Mahoney said the "buyers were unavailable".
Mr Mulcahy said the 40 buyers flying in from Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong were keen to begin talks on acquiring Australian produce.
"The meeting is critically important for our industry," he said. "We have been supportive of the federal government's attempts to get free trade agreements in various countries. We need to make our trading partners welcome here, when they want to come to Australia and invest money into an industry under pressure."
Ausveg launched a public protest over a 40 cents-a-crate "Jamie Oliver levy" that was costing farmers tens of thousands of dollars.
Woolworths has copped consumer backlash on social media.
"We think this is extremely unreasonable behaviour," Mr Mulcahy said.
"It's not in the Australian national interest to turn away valuable purchases from Asia."
Ausveg, which represents 9000 growers, has lodged a complaint about the "unreasonable" charge with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which said it was "aware of the concerns".
A long-time fruit supplier to Woolworths, Rowan Little of Montague Fresh, said the behaviour did not align with his experiences with its buyers.
"It seems strange, it's (not in keeping) with normal practice."
He said he was among suppliers who had agreed to contribute to the Oliver campaign.
