A Western Australian Perspective – By Claudia Cunningham
Steering the ship
Claudia Cunningham is a fifth-generation family member of Etherington, one of Western Australia’s longest-running fruit wholesalers. Established in 1921, Etherington today turns over approximately $50 million annually and employs 40 people.
As head of Etherington’s technology practices and a member of the Advisory Board responsible for the setting of business strategy, Cunningham represents the next generation of wholesalers in Australia. She is also an emerging leader within the broader horticulture sector. Among other leadership roles, Cunningham is the President of Market West (The Chamber of Fruit & Vegetable Industries in Western Australia), a Non-Executive Director of Fresh Markets Australia, and a Director of the Perth Markets Group Limited.
The shift to consolidation
Consolidation at both the retail and supply levels continues to reduce the number of active buyers. In FY25, the Perth Market recorded 370 active buyers. That number fell to 346 in FY26. While buyer numbers are falling, overall market throughput continues to grow.
What buyers value most
Growth, however, comes from a changing buyer base.
Food service now drives much of the upside. Restaurants, event caterers, mine sites and institutional buyers increasingly rely on wholesalers to supply large volumes at short notice.
According to Cunnigham, these buyers value speed, flexibility, and access to a full range of product specifications. That flexibility underpins the enduring value of central markets.
“Wholesalers operate alongside supermarkets but serve a fundamentally different function,” says Cuningham.
“Supermarkets demand tight sizing specifications and concentrate on a narrow band of product. Anything outside that range either attracts heavy discounts or receives rejection. Wholesalers, by contrast, take all sizes and work to extract value across the full crop profile.
“This role supports both ends of the supply chain. Wholesalers protect returns for growers by finding markets for fruit and vegetables that do not meet supermarket specifications.
“At the same time, they support smaller buyers who rely on access to varied sizing and daily price discovery. In doing so, wholesalers look after small producers just as much as large, sophisticated suppliers.”
What modern wholesaling looks like
Looking ahead, Cunningham says modern wholesaling continues to be driven by two mutually reinforcing imperatives: relationships and commercial viability.
In practice, she says that means focusing on three fundamentals: strengthening partnerships with growers and buyers, lifting operational efficiency through practical technology, and maintaining relentless discipline around costs and market conditions.
“First, relationships matter more than ever. As grower consolidation reduces choice, wholesalers must deepen their value proposition to both growers and buyers.
“At Etherington we actively explore ways to strengthen supplier partnerships, including pairing growers with agronomists to lift yield and quality, providing early-season cash advances to assist seasonal supplier cash flows, and providing short term financial assistance for farm infrastructure.
“These initiatives aim to lock in mutual commitment in an increasingly competitive environment.
“Second, wholesalers must remain commercially viable amid escalating costs. In Western Australia, rent, electricity, and payroll continue to rise sharply.
“To manage this pressure, we have invested heavily in technology, with a focus on practical data capture to assist in better forecasting and decision making.
Cunningham stresses that rather than wait for fully autonomous systems to become viable, businesses should prioritise immediate efficiency gains. These include the use of emerging tools and incremental efficiencies to reduce manual data entry during early morning trading hours.
“This shift not only improves accuracy but also helps attract younger workers who show less willingness to start work at 1:00 am,” says Cunningham.
At the supplier level, Etherington has gone further by building its own bespoke software.
Off-the-shelf platforms failed to reflect the realities of its operation, so the company engaged a contractor to assist in the development of a bespoke system tailored to its specific requirements.
The software provides live data regarding sales and profitability for each transaction as it is performed, providing management with the tools for improved decision making. Further, the cyclical nature of horticulture can provide meaningful year-on-year performance data. The same data feeds a supplier portal, enabling suppliers to access real time consignment stock on hand drilled down to product type, container, grade and size. The portal provides suppliers with the same report functionality as management, albeit limited to their own transactional data.
While transparency often features prominently in policy debates, Cunningham notes a disconnect between theory and practice.
“Suppliers say they want more information, but usage of detailed industry data portals remains low after initial interest. Transparency alone does not automatically deliver better outcomes.”
The 2026 Horticulture Code of Conduct Review
These realities also shape her views on regulation.
She acknowledges the intent behind the upcoming Horticulture Code of Conduct Review and the need for baseline protections.
In that context, Cunningham cautions that changes to established pricing methodologies would need careful testing to avoid unintended consequences.
“Wholesalers would likely respond by narrowing acceptance criteria and heavily discounting or declining to accept non-preferred sizes, which would undermine the very diversity the market currently supports.”
Cunningham also questions proposals that would require wholesalers to disclose detailed customer information to suppliers, noting that such obligations remain uncommon in other industries.
“Combined with increasingly complex contractual requirements, each Code revision adds a significant administrative burden,” stresses Cunningham.
“What’s more, many growers, particularly those from non-English-speaking backgrounds, struggle to interpret lengthy legal agreements, which dilutes their useability.”
Competition, transparency, flexibility
For policymakers and regulators, the message from the Perth market is clear: central markets already balance competition, transparency, and flexibility.
“In a consolidating market, modern wholesaling succeeds by staying grounded in relationships, disciplined on costs, and pragmatic about change,” says Cunningham.
