After trialing their fresh lettuce into the south-east Asian market, Cambooya-based Geoffrey and Anne Story and son Nathan, Story Fresh, have consigned their first commercial order of fresh produce into Singapore.
The Story family has been farming vegetables since 1965, and started processing produce to customers all over Australia from their on-farm facility in 1990.
As well as packaging the supermarket fresh-cut produce, the family is also a major supplier of shredded lettuce into the food service industry, and supplies to Hungry Jacks and Subway across the Australian eastern seaboard.
Their first commercial shredded lettuce consignment was flown as chilled cargo from Brisbane Airport on Monday.
Story Fresh was also part of the historic inaugural international Cathay Pacific freight flight out of the privately owned Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport, near Toowoomba in late November last year.
"We had shredded lettuce on board that flight, managing director, Geoffrey Story said. "That was part of a trial into the Hong Kong market.
"We are also trialling the Taiwan and Singapore markets, and investigating China as well. When Brisbane West Wellcamp starts operating, it will give us the potential to shorten our time between harvest and shipping to overseas markets. We will package the product in the morning, and it can fly out later that day."
The Story Fresh success will no doubt be highlighted when a panel of speakers meets in Toowoomba next Friday to discuss with Queensland Country Life their vision for growing agriculture and business in the bush, and building healthy and resilient communities across rural and regional Queensland.
A report on the forum will appear in the February 18 edition of QCL, with additional reports and video of the event at queenslandcountrylife.com.au
The event forms part of QCL’s Grow Queensland initiative, which launches this week with a special preview starting on page 23.
QCL editor, Penelope Arthur, said the aim of Grow Queensland was to highlight across a range of media platforms the challenges facing rural businesses and communities.
“There is a huge amount of optimism in agriculture but in order to keep Growing Queensland our leaders need to keep their feet firmly on pedals,” she said.
“Grow Queensland aims to explore the impediments to growth and discuss ways to keep expanding our businesses and towns and continue building resilient communities.”
