Australian Fresh Produce Alliance

What Australian Fresh Produce Alliance does

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) is an industry association founded in March 2019 in Melbourne, Australia, representing the country's largest fresh produce growers and suppliers. Its member companies account for $4.5 billion of Australia's $9.1 billion fresh produce sector turnover - roughly half of the sector - and more than a third of Australian fresh produce exports ($410 million of $1.2 billion). The alliance operates across more than 100 production locations and is associated with 22,000+ direct employees in member organizations and 25,000+ workers in the broader grower network.

AFPA's product surface consists of policy advocacy resources and industry tools rather than commercial technology. Key offerings include the Common Greenhouse Gas Accounting Framework developed with Sustenance Asia, a Packaging Materials Selector and Guide, consumer research on packaging and food waste (38 in-home interviews), RMIT-commissioned packaging research, and aggregated industry data reports sourced from members. These serve a defined stakeholder base of major retailers (Coles, Woolworths, ALDI, Harris Farm Markets) and government counterparts on workforce, trade, biosecurity, packaging and sustainability policy.

AFPA is entirely funded by membership fees from member companies at CEO level, with no disclosed pricing. Governance is run by a board of member-CEOs with a rotating chair (currently Richard Clayton, 2025; incoming CEO Veronica Papacosta begins January 2026, replacing Claire McClelland). The organization's go-to-market motion is community-led and policy-led: sustained government engagement in Australia and export-trade markets including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India and the Middle East, combined with formalized retail roundtables with the major Australian supermarket chains.

Name

Australian Fresh Produce Alliance

Legal name

Australian Fresh Produce Alliance

Website

https://freshproduce.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance is a Melbourne-based industry association, founded 2019, representing Australia's largest fresh produce growers and suppliers. Members account for ~50% of the country's $9.1 billion fresh produce sector turnover and run formal advocacy and retail roundtables with government, Coles, Woolworths, ALDI and Harris Farm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: The AFPA is entirely funded by membership fees from member companies at CEO level.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) is a membership-funded industry association that represents Australia's key fresh produce growers and suppliers. It advocates on trade, workforce, biosecurity, packaging sustainability, and food system issues, and convenes retail roundtables with major supermarkets. It also produces shared industry resources including a common GHG accounting framework, a packaging materials selector tool, consumer research, and aggregated industry data.

Product overview

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance (AFPA) is an industry association representing major Australian fresh produce growers and suppliers. It is not a product company but rather provides industry advocacy, policy resources, and tools for its member companies. AFPA's offerings include industry resources such as the Common Greenhouse Gas Accounting Framework, Packaging Materials Selector and Guide tools, consumer research reports, and industry workforce data. The organization focuses on policy areas including market access, workforce/labour, environmental sustainability (packaging and food waste), product integrity, pollination, water security, and trade.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AFPA Membership Industry association membership funded by membership fees paid by member companies at the CEO level, providing member companies with collective industry advocacy, policy representation to government, participation in retail roundtables with major supermarkets, and access to shared industry resources on sustainability, packaging, biosecurity, and workforce issues. Members include major Australian fresh produce growers and suppliers such as Costa Group, Perfection Fresh, Montague, Driscoll's, Fresh Select, Mitolo Group, One Harvest, Freshmax, 2PH Farms, LaManna Premier Group, Pinata Farms, Fresh Produce Group, Mackays Marketing, Australian Produce Partners, and Premier Fresh Australia.

Quantifiable outcome

• Market access secured for Australian apples to China (April 2025)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Costa GroupcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Costa Group is one of Australia's largest fresh produce companies and founding member of AFPA. CEO Harry Debney served as inaugural AFPA Chairman. Costa Group is a major supplier of berries, mushrooms, tomatoes, and other fresh produce to major retailers.
• Perfection FreshcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Perfection Fresh is a major Australian fresh produce company and founding member of AFPA. CEO Michael Simonetta served as AFPA Chair for 2020. Known for blueberries, raspberries, mangoes, avocados, and other premium produce.
• MontaguecoreOthers · 18 March 2019Montague is a family-owned fresh produce company and founding AFPA member. MD Scott Montague serves on the AFPA Board. Known for apples, stone fruit, and grapes.
• Driscoll'scoreOthers · 18 March 2019Driscoll's is a global berry company and founding AFPA member. GM Jon Gleeson serves on the AFPA Board. Specializes in strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
• Fresh SelectcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Fresh Select is a major Australian fresh produce company and founding AFPA member. Known for leafy vegetables, lettuce, and specialty produce.
• Pinata FarmscoreOthers · 18 March 2019Pinata Farms is a Queensland-based fresh produce company and AFPA member. MD Gavin Scurr serves on the AFPA Board. Known for pineapples, mangoes, and strawberries.
• Mitolo GroupcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Mitolo Group is a major Australian fresh produce company and founding AFPA member. Known for potatoes, onions, and carrots.
• Mackays MarketingcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Mackays Marketing (Mackay's Banana Marketing) is a major banana producer and AFPA member. Director Stephen Mackay serves on the AFPA Board.
• Fresh Produce GroupcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Fresh Produce Group is a major fresh produce company and AFPA member. ED Anthony Poiner serves on the AFPA Board.
• One HarvestcoreOthers · 18 March 2019One Harvest is a major Australian fresh produce company and founding AFPA member. Known for corn, beets, and mixed vegetables.
• FreshmaxcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Freshmax is a major Australian fresh produce company and founding AFPA member. Known for avocadoes and stone fruit.
• LaManna Premier GroupcoreOthers · 18 March 2019LaManna Premier Group (LPG) is a major fresh produce company formed from merger of LaManna Group and Premier Fruits Group. CEO Anthony Di Pietro served as AFPA Chair for 2021.
• 2PH FarmscoreOthers · 18 March 20192PH Farms is a major Australian fresh produce company and founding AFPA member. Known for citrus and other produce.
• Rugby FarmingcoreOthers · 18 March 2019Rugby Farming is a major Australian fresh produce company and founding AFPA member. Director Matt Hood serves on the AFPA Board.
• Premier Fresh AustraliacoreOthersPremier Fresh Australia (formerly Premier Fruits Group) is a major fresh produce supplier and AFPA member. CEO Anthony Di Pietro served as AFPA Chair for 2021 and is MD of LaManna Premier Group.
• Australian Produce PartnerscoreOthersAustralian Produce Partners is a major fresh produce investment and management company. CEO Richard Clayton serves as AFPA Chair for 2025.
• Sustenance AsiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSustenance Asia collaborated with AFPA to create the Common Greenhouse Gas Accounting Framework for the Australian fresh produce industry.
• RMIT UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFPA commissioned RMIT University to research the role of packaging for Australian fresh produce, highlighting packaging's role in addressing food waste and increasing product shelf life.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hort Innovation: Hort Innovation is the Australian horticulture R&D and marketing levy body that overlaps heavily with AFPA's grower base. It operates at broader scope across all horticulture rather than fresh produce alone and funds its activity through statutory levies rather than membership fees.
• Produce Marketing Association (PMA): PMA (now part of the International Fresh Produce Association) is the global trade body for the fresh produce and floral supply chain. It mirrors AFPA's role at international scope, offering comparable networking, advocacy, and standards work for major Australian exporters.
• National Farmers' Federation: The National Farmers' Federation is the largest Australian agricultural peak body, representing the full farm sector including horticulture, livestock, and grains. AFPA sits within its broader advocacy coalition and competes for federal-policy attention at a much wider scope.

Regional players

• Growcom: Growcom is the Queensland horticulture industry body and is directly comparable to AFPA in mission (advocacy for fruit and vegetable growers) but with a state-level remit rather than national scope, including state workforce, water, and biosecurity policy.
• United Fresh New Zealand: United Fresh is the New Zealand fresh produce industry association covering fruits and vegetables across the supply chain. It is a clear functional peer to AFPA but operates in the trans-Tasman market rather than competing in Australia.

Emerging players

• Citrus Australia: Citrus Australia is the peak industry body for the Australian citrus sector, several of whose members (notably 2PH Farms) are also AFPA members. It focuses on a single fresh-produce commodity where AFPA covers the whole category, making it a narrower niche peer.
• Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL): APAL is the peak body for Australia's apple and pear growers, including Montague and other AFPA member companies. It is directly comparable in function to AFPA but limited to the pome-fruit sub-category, exemplified by the recent AFPA-won apple market access to China.
• Berries Australia: Berries Australia is the industry body representing the Australian berry sector, with overlapping members such as Costa Group and Driscoll's. It mirrors AFPA's industry-association model but only across the berry sub-category.

Direct peers

• AUSVEG: AUSVEG is the Australian peak industry body for the vegetable and potato industry, the most direct functional peer to AFPA within Australian horticulture. Both organisations advocate to government and retailers on behalf of growers, but AUSVEG's narrower vegetable-only scope makes it a more specialised counterpart.
• Seafood Industry Australia: Seafood Industry Australia is the national peak body for the Australian seafood industry and a near-perfect functional peer: member-funded, policy-focused, and retailer-engaged. AFPA's incoming CEO Veronica Papacosta led SIA from 2020, underlining how directly transferable the operating model is.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ausfreshproduce
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-fresh-produce-alliance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Australian Fresh Produce Alliance