Premier Fresh Australia Quarterly Newsletter - Autumn 2023 Edition

Message from the Group CEO

I warmly welcome everyone to our first newsletter of 2023. After what was a challenging but rewarding 2022, I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to all our employees who have continued to grow and thrive under the new Premier Fresh Australia banner.

I am excited about the opportunities and endeavours that lie ahead, as we continue to strengthen the Premier business and optimise our supply chain in line with our strategic objectives. On that note, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you of some recent changes.

Premier’s commitment to banana growing has been solidified with the successful acquisition of a 45-hectare banana farming operation, formally known as Dotti’s Farm, which is adjacent to our ABC packing operations. This exciting acquisition will further strengthen our farming footprint and increase our supply volume available to Premier’s major and independent retail customers.

We will also see the closure of our Brisbane Operations, following the relocation of business being conducted at 25 Sherwood Road, Rocklea, QLD. All of our existing commercial business will continue to be serviced directly from Premier’s other national distribution sites, while our farming operations will further increase our ‘direct to store’ supply of customers. I take this opportunity to thank all the Brisbane Operations team who have dedicated their hard work over the years. We appreciate your contribution and commitment to our company’s success.

On a farming front, at Lancaster Farms in northern Victoria we have tomato, field pumpkin and watermelon crops now in full production. The Lancaster team is delivering excellent quality fruit in decent volumes, supplying Gourmet and Roma varieties across the country.

In the north, it’s monsoon season; the bananas are faring well and even thriving in the wet weather, with production volumes high at DFF in Darwin and ABC and IBFC in Innisfail.

Our International Division continues to grow in a challenging environment. With our recent partnership with Camera Group, Premier Farms International have exported over 230 containers of grapes to our overseas customers. We’re also pleased to announce the launch of TóPA nectarines, for which we are one of two exclusive marketers in Australia.

As we embark on what is already a busy year, let’s continue to prioritise health, safety, and wellbeing in everything we do.

On behalf of our Chairman and board, I wish you all a great 2023 – may it continue to be a good one. I look forward to seeing everyone happy and healthy.

Thank you.

Group CEO Premier Fresh Australia

News & Events

International Women’s Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th, Premier sites across the nation held a welcoming and inclusive morning tea to mark the occasion.

Premier has many capable women who have made significant contributions to our success. They have shown great leadership, dedication, and commitment within our workplace.

The morning was a wonderful opportunity to recognise and appreciate the hard work, accomplishments and value of each and every woman at Premier.

Shepparton Meeting

Dutch protected cropping experts

Last year, Group CEO Anthony Di Pietro, COO Dean Gall and a team from MG Group in New Zealand travelled to Holland and Germany to investigate the latest in technology for greenhouses, biomass heating, automation and packing systems. The research undertaken proved invaluable to planning the next stages of development for our company. Following on from this trip, Dutch protected cropping experts Mark Loojie and Ben Hogervorst recently came to Australia to convene with Premier representatives for a summit in Shepparton. In attendance were Mark Daunt, Sam Davies, Anthony Di Pietro, Dean Gall, Simon Hardie and Stephen Millar. On the agenda were greenhouses and a feasibility study of proposed developments at Lancaster Farms.

Our Farms

ABC & IBFC

It’s been hot and humid up at our farms in Innisfail, far north Queensland. One recent visitor to ABC and IBFC from Australia’s southern cityscapes summed up the sensation with the words: “I can’t breathe”. and the bananas, are loving it!

The fairly dry pre-Christmas period has been succeeded by wetter weather, which combines with the hot temperatures to produce humid conditions that the trees thrive in.

In fact, all plant life is thriving, which can create some problems – grass and weeds are also growing rapidly, and the banana trees themselves have to be desuckered and deleafed more regularly, which means that paddock work is never-ending for the team. Fortunately, backpacker numbers in the area are steadily increasing, which brings hope that we will soon be able to rely on a seasonal backpacker workforce, as per the natural ebb and flow of the pre-pandemic days.

Lancaster

This summer has proven to be a fairly erratic one in northern Victoria, home to Premier’s own Lancaster Farms. Unpredictable cold spells have meant that the greenhouse’s heating system – which usually gets switched off during December and January – has been kept idling throughout the summer. Despite the weather, the greenhouse crop has been performing really well, with good quality fruit sets and steady production performance.

This is the first crop since the second half of the roof was replaced last winter. Having the fresh new transparent covering over the crop has certainly made a difference, significantly increasing light exposure and keeping the crop drier, which in turn reduces the risk of disease.

The persimmon orchard is also looking good, with the fruit sizing really well. Though it’s still early days, the crop looks to be a good one, and the team is on track working towards the start of harvesting around mid-April.

In other news, Premier has acquired a neighbouring farm up at our northern Queensland hub, with ABC having taken the reins last November. D Farm, as it is known, comprises a huge 115 acres of banana plantation, doubling the total acreage of the plantations managed by the team.

Thanks to the hard work of Steve Morice, Steve Prior and the team the handover and assigned additional work has been very successful. Though this brings a lot more work, Steve Morice, Steven Prior, and the rest of team have been giving it their all and, thanks to them, the handover has been a success.

Both of our outdoor pumpkin varieties are tracking well. We have Butternut and Kent pumpkins springing up in the field, producing good fruit sets and a healthy crop. Lancaster General Manager, Mark Daunt, and our site agronomist, Tim Claridge, have a regular Monday morning walk and talk, during which they check the pumpkins and make a plan for the coming week.

In staff news, Graduate Grower Kiran Gadde is settling in well, working closely with Head Grower Samuel Davies. Santiago Aloisi has joined the team in the role of Greenhouse Supervisor and will soon be transitioning to a Graduate Grower position as well. Santiago has a passion for growing fresh produce, having moved into the field from the dairy industry.

Keep an eye out on our social media for Lancaster Farms updates.

Lancaster Farms is an 81-hectare farm property located in the Goulburn Valley Region, Victoria.

IBFC spans over 135-hectares of Cavendish banana crops while ABC is LPG’s banana packing facility, both located in Innisfail, Queensland.

ABC/IBFC

Darwin Fruit Farms i

It’s the wet season up in Darwin, which runs from about December to April, bringing an average total of around 1.5 metres of rain. October to early December are dominated by the build-up to the wet season, with stifling heat and promises of rain that never eventuate. Meanwhile, January to March find us truly in the thick of it, with monsoons a regular occurrence and cyclones occasionally sweeping through the region. Over the Christmas period, cyclone Ellie brought 7 inches of rain to the region in just two days, causing major flooding and wreaking havoc on the state’s road systems. Fortunately, DFF was not adversely affected, suffering no crop damage and able to appreciate the silver lining of cooler temperatures.

The banana trees are also appreciating the wet weather, producing nice, big bunches with very highquality fruit. On the farm, an important measure of efficiency is the carton-to-bunch ratio: the number of cartons packed from one bunch of bananas. This season, the ratio has increased from 1.6 to nearly two full cartons per bunch, meaning that production volumes have significantly increased for the same amount of work. Planting has also increased, with new trees currently being planted every fortnight. With production higher than expected, fewer topups are needed from our Innisfail farm to cover statewide demand, and DFF manages to be entirely self-sufficient in the Darwin market.

It’s green everywhere, which also brings more work – both in harvesting and in maintaining the trees and paddocks. Fortunately, the team has plenty of people to rely on, with returning workers about to arrive from Vanuatu. Having people return for another season is a significant help, saving a lot of time and ensuring that production remains stable, as training someone up to full capacity takes around six weeks.

It’s another world up north, where DFF’s neighbouring wetlands are home to all manner of creatures – from fairly harmless native dingoes to more troublesome magpie geese, who love to feast on young bananas and can smash through a few hundred plants in a single day. Then there’s lessthan-friendly wild pigs, and even bulkier Asian water buffalo, who hop a fence with surprising ease to munch on a banana.

In other staff news, DFF’s truck driver Anthony “Ant Man” has accepted a permanent position with the Group – congratulations!

Spanning a huge 369-hectares, DFF is located in Humpty Doo, Northern Territory.

Magpie Geese at DFF

Lancaster Farms

Lancaster Farms

Daniel Yeo proudly displaying one of the bunches from DFF

Commercial Update

Grower Partner Mercuri Farms

Basking under the hot February sun in the heart of Northern Victoria is a fresh produce haven called Lancaster, home to our own Lancaster Farms. Next door, our friendly neighbours the Mercuri family produce delicious field-grown Gourmet tomatoes, which we help to pack and deliver to Australian consumers nationwide.

This family-owned and operated Australian business all started with Don Mercuri, who founded the farm in the mid-fifties after moving over from Italy. Since then, the operation has been passed down the Mercuri line – first to Don’s sons Tony and Phil, who remain the farm’s head growers to this day. Now, Mercuri Farms has ushered in its third generation, with Tony and Phil’s children – Damien, Don, Nathan and Adam – joining the fray.

The team at Mercuri Farms work year-round, producing around 3000 tonnes of tomatoes every year. Planting usually begins around September. A few months later, the stars of sunlight and rain align to produce ideal growing conditions and a thriving tomato crop, ready for harvest. From December through to mid-May, around 100 fruit pickers come in to pluck the tomatoes from their vines and send them next door to Lancaster Farms. Here, they are washed, sorted and packed, before being distributed to shop and supermarket shelves for customers to find.

After that, it’s up to you – whether you’re after a fragrant pasta sauce or fresh pizza topping, these vitamin-rich and flavour-filled tomatoes are at your fingertips, giving their all. Premier Fresh Australia and Lancaster Farms are proud to be supporting our nextdoor neighbours in bringing you three generations of Mercuri family farming expertise and the fruits of our own Australian soil.

Soft vegetable supply

It’s peak season for soft vegetables, with cucumbers, capsicums, zucchinis, eggplant and tomatoes coming in thick and fast.

Growers in Victoria and South Australia are the main suppliers at the moment, servicing the majority of the east coast and many other parts of the country. The southern season wraps up around mid-April, with indoor cropping lasting through until May. Southeast Queensland comes into production in April to help compliment the slowdown of the southern season, before north Queensland takes over around June.

With no major weather events so far this year, we have managed to maintain stable supply with no

major shortages. Quality has also been consistently good, and we’re looking forward to another 4-6 solid weeks of good product before the season tapers off.

soft vegetable recipe!

International Update Launching TÓPA!

Premier’s International Division, Premier Farms International, is proud to have been selected as one of two exclusive marketers for TóPA nectarines for three years, from 2022-25.

Unlike other Australian-grown nectarines, TóPA fruit has a darker skin that often includes some sugar spotting. The flesh has a very pure flavour with a creamy background.

Grape season begins

The grape season has commenced, with green/ white, red and black seedless grapes now available across the country. Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria are the home states for the grape, and stable supply is expected to continue for the next four months.

A versatile bunch, grapes make great picnic fodder, a sweet and healthy lunchbox treat,

or paired with nuts and cheese for the perfect after dinner snack. A self-contained nibble, the grape never fails to deliver a refreshing burst of vitamins and sweetness. We are excited to welcome them back for another year!

Trading Update

Citrus season

Soon to start

Spring brings a conclusion of the southern citrus season. Orange Valencia’s are now in season and looking juicy as ever! This fresh, new season fruit is ripe, ready and looking delicious. Mandarins will be coming to fruition from mid-April, starting with imperials from Mundubbera and Gayndah region in Queensland. Hot on their heels are navel oranges, expected to make their debut in May.

Meanwhile, lemons and limes continue to come in yearround from the northern edges of the country. Though there have been some rain events, crops have not been impacted and supply has remained stable.

Quality & Technical Update

The last 3 months have been particularly challenging for Premier’s Quality & Technical division, as extremes of weather continue to challenge all growing regions affecting quality and availability. The team continues to set a benchmark in communication of current and forward looking supply chain data and performance metrics that are shared across all stakeholders every week. Many other ongoing initiatives continue to be provided including the support to Premiers farms, growers and customers across quality, compliance and ethical as well as numerous product development and innovation projects that assist to drive the Premier categories forward.

Mark Benvenuto GeneralManager,Quality&ProductDevelopment

Plums: November –June

What’s in Season A vocados:March– July

Grapes: December –June

T o matoes:September – May

Health, Safety & Wellbeing

Get your mind fit for work!

EDAPP is coming!

We are excited to announce the upcoming launch of our new learning management system, EdApp, designed to transform the way our employees learn, and support their ongoing growth at Premier!

EdApp offers a suite of features and tools to enhance the employee training experience and will provide an efficient and integrated approach to HR, Safety, Ethical, and Quality compliance training.

Premier’s Employee Assistance Program, MindFit at Work, is a great tool to assist you with both maintaining and improving your wellbeing.

We highly encourage our employees to utilise the readily available and free services provided by MindFit at Work, including;

• Confidential counselling sessions;

• Digital training;

• Wellbeing fact sheets and video; and

• Meditation phone ‘app’.

If you would like further information or require assistance accessing MindFit services, contact HRSupport@premierfresh.com.au or refer to your safety notice board.

Noticed a safety issue?

Premier is encouraging all workers to capture their safety observations and issues!

You will notice dedicated QR codes displayed across your site, inviting you to submit safety observations, hazards and near misses in real-time.

We look forward to seeing the many ways in which EdApp will contribute to the ongoing success and growth within the company. Stay tuned for the upcoming launch.

Would you like to see more Mental health & Wellbeing initiatives in the workplace? We would love to hear your suggestions!

Please email HRSupport@premierfresh. com.au with initiatives you would be interested in participating in.

Reporting safety observations of any kind is an important preventative action that better equips yourself and the team to act quickly and resolve issues before a serious incident occurs. Let’s achieve best practice, go on… get reporting!

Don’t notice QR Codes displayed at your workplace? Contact HSW@premierfresh.com.au.

Our People

Growing You Graduate Program

Premier Fresh Australia would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest graduates!

Emilija Angeloska has been selected to join the Group in the role of HR & HSW Coordinator, as part of Premier’s “Growing You” Graduate Program. Emilija will be supporting all divisions with HR administration and services as well as safety compliance and initiatives, reporting to Claudia Giorno. Emilija completed a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Human Resources Management at Victoria University in 2021. Emilija will be based at the Hyde Street office, located in the HR office.

Jocelyn Limviana has joined the Group in the role of Category Coordinator, reporting to Frank Frappa. Jocelyn recently completed a Bachelor of International Business majoring in Logistics & Supply Chain at RMIT. Jocelyn will be based at the Hyde Street office, located in the Commercial area.

Kiran Gadde joined the Group in the role of Graduate Grower at Lancaster Farms in September 2022. Kiran graduated with a Master of Applied Science (Agriculture) from the University of Tasmania, Hobart, in February 2020. We are pleased to see Kiran’s progress under the guidance of Head Grower Samuel Davies.

Meet a Work Mate

Steven Prior, Farm Manager, ABC/IBFC

An Innisfail local, Steven Prior has been part of Premier’s far north Queensland team for a few years now.

His role was already a vital one, but now it has become twice as big, with Premier taking over the management of a neighbouring farm. D Farm, as it is called, comprises 115 acres and brings the combined total banana plantations run by ABC and IBFC to over 230 acres. Never one to complain, Steven took on the task and has played a big part in making the transition a success.

Great work, Steven!

Gary Singh

Roberto Franco Steve Morice Luke Radan

Operations Coordinator Col Johnson Trading Storeperson Sydney Trading General Manager ABC/IBFC Operations Manager Adelaide Ops & Services Chief Financial Officer 15 20 15 15 5 YEARS

Category Manager YEARS YEARS YEARS YEARS

10

Staff Anniversaries

Hot Cross Buns

With Easter just around the corner, why not have a go at making home-made Hot Cross Buns!

The recipe below can be adapted to add chocolate chips too!

Ingredients

Dough

• 4 1/2 cups

plain flour

• 2 x 7g dried yeast

• 1/4 cup

caster sugar

• 1 1/2 tspn

mixed spice

• Pinch salt

• 1 1/2 cup currants

• 40g butter

Method

• 300ml milk

• 2 eggs lightly beaten

• 4 tbspn water

Glaze

• 1/3 cup water

• 4 tbspn apricot jam

1. Combine 4 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, salt and currants in a large bowl.

2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and add the milk. Heat for 1 minute, or until lukewarm. Add warm milk mixture and eggs to currant mixture.

3. Use a flat bladed knife to mix the dough until it almost comes together, then using clean hands, finish mixing to a soft dough.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth.

5. Place into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draught free place for 1 – 1 ½ hours, or until dough doubles in size.

6. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Punch dough down to its original size. Knead for 30 seconds on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Divide into 12 even portions and shape each portion into a ball.

7. Place balls onto the lined tray, about 1cm apart. Cover with oiled cling film and set aside in a warm, draught free place for 30 minutes, or until buns double in size.

8. Preheat fan-forced oven to 170°C.

9. To make the flour paste, mix ½ cup plain flour and 4 tablespoons of water together in a small bowl until smooth, adding a little more water if the paste is too thick. Spoon into a small snap-lock bag and snip off one corner to create a piping bag. Pipe flour paste over the tops of buns to form crosses.

10. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 2025 minutes, or until buns are cooked through.

11. To make the glaze, place water and jam into a small saucepan over low heat and stir until jam dissolves. Bring to the boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat. Immediately brush glaze over warm hot cross buns.

12. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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