MILDURA and Nangiloc Ag Supplies might be wrapping up a strong 2023, but their senior horticultural sales agronomist Carlo Nuitta stresses that the only constant the industry faces is change.
Mr Nuitta reminded people that they only need to look back as far as 2019.
“The country was incredibly dry, and the industry was tired and stressed, it was a very difficult period,” he said.
“From that base we launched into 2020, ’21 and ’22, and – notwithstanding the small matter of a pandemic and the supply chain challenges it presented – this period in agriculture was, by and large, bright and prosperous.
“The planets aligned on supply, weather and commodity prices, allowing the industry to rekindle profits, recalibrate and recover. For many in agriculture, this will have been one of the more rewarding periods in their careers.
“Then there was 2023, and it all changed again.”
Change, Mr Nuitta said, started with the general mood across the country shifting as the industry came off the highs of input pricing and supply chains started to free up.
That sparked, among other things, focus on reducing high-cost inventory in supply and retail businesses, some experiencing material losses as the market realigned to more normalised trading and procurement.
Mr Nuitta said Ag Supplies and the wider industry had navigated some big challenges in the past and this one was “hopefully one to be put behind us in 2024”.
“But when we all look back on the past five years, I believe groups such as ours, and the suppliers we work with, will be able to hold our heads high,” he said.
“Despite the many challenges, our farmers have, by and large, been supplied with the inputs they need, allowing them to do what they do best.
“This is an immense credit to all in our industry.
“It has also led to a common conversation of late – the one about risk and whether this is adequately shared in the supply chain.
“Yes, it’s a sensitive topic, but one I suspect will remain front of mind for many in this increasingly unpredictable world.
“There is indeed a heightened and growing sense of volatility around the globe, and certainly in agriculture.
“Whether that be related to geopolitical tensions, climate variability, disruptive technologies or rapidly changing consumer preferences, change will indeed be something all in our sector will continue to need to wrestle with, to reconcile, and to adapt to.
“But that’s what farmers and suppliers in agriculture do. It’s what we’ve always done. We adapt and adjust. We know this game and how this plays out over the longer term.
“We know being resilient, innovative and agile in how we operate, will allow us to stay in the game … simply, we just have to.
“With this flexibility, adaptiveness to change and longer-term thinking, comes great opportunities, new products and services, and ever better ways to do things.”
