Dried fruit products company Clyne Foods collapses after shocking harvest

Receivers have been appointed to Victorian dried fruit company Clyne Foods, whose customers included the major Australian supermarkets, with the company saying droughts and flood had sliced its volumes.

Clyne Foods has a dried fruit processing facility in the Victorian town of Warracknabeal with receival and grading handled in Mildura, and had average annual revenue of $14 million through 2010 and 2011. Receiver PPB has said that Clyne Foods also reported trading profits.

Clyne managing director Norm Clyne has told the Weekly Times: “We came off two droughts and last season where we had low receivals and the floods were disastrous. Last year we only received 30-35% of normal (volumes).”

Clyne told the paper that his family was devastated by the situation, adding an offer had been made for the company but the decision rested with PPB. The 30 employees made redundant had since been employed elsewhere, he said.

According to its website, Clyne Foods held around 30% of the domestic market and 25% of the export market, and supported more than 200 growers through Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. Its motto is “100% Australian owned 100% Australian fruit”.

John Hawtin, industry development officer at industry body Dried Fruits Australia, says the collapse leaves just two dried fruit processors, Australian Premium Dried Fruits and Sunbeam Foods, both from Mildura.

For the growers waiting to see how they’ll get paid, it’s “disastrous”, he says.

Hawtin says the industry was whacked by five years of drought and a heavy deluge in February – leaving tonnage down, lower grades and disease.

“It was probably the lowest tonnage the industry had received,” Hawtin says.

The collapse follows a tumultuous time for the Australian food industry, with recent collapses:

• An organic olive oil business run by former rich list member the Kailis family.
• The fruit and vegetable supplier Addamo.
• The wholesale food distributor Victoria Foods Group.
• The food distribution business Downton & Dyer.
• One of the country’s largest food and vegetable growers Barbera Farms.
• An ethnic food group Parsam Group.

A call to the Clyne office was not answered.