s discussed together this morning our coconut packer Raya Green is playing hard ball. From now on all orders placed I must advance the funds minimum 5-7 days in order for them to start arrange & pack the containers. They have said there is no longer any negotiation on this point and if I delay the payments again they will stop packing for myself.
Unfortunately due to these circumstances I must change Exoriens Fresh Ltd payment policy from now on for coconut orders to be 100% payment against documents.
On a positive note Raya Green said they still committed to support to LIFE brand to supply to Coles exclusively and agree to continue to pack to Coles specifications & requirements the best they can. They will accept claims if there are serious problems with the quality upon arrival, they cannot accept claims 3/4 weeks after the arrivals. Furthermore they did strongly indicate that they don’t expect major quality problems to occur as they are grading out a higher quality for our orders than any other customer. However they have also made it clear they cannot eliminate leaking coconuts 100% and also sap can occur in transit which they can’t control i.e. the coconut is clean at time of packing but the sap comes out during transit. I have spoken to them several times on this point and they are adamant this sap occurs in transit. As we discussed and strongly expressed to Sonya during her Coles visit we need this understanding and the coconuts should be delivered to Coles in the black crates in order to avoid leaking coconuts & sap coconuts being delivered.
Apparently Raya Green have a lot of other options to pack for other customers, as I understand there is a very long line up at there door including several from Australia which again if you believe them have offered to pay higher prices to take the supply base away from LIFE brand however Raya Green said they are committed to us to build the business in Australia.
Again if you believe it apparently all coconut buyers now understand that Raya Green has a better quality coconut. K-Fresh is apparently playing games currently to get Raya Green to pack for them, if you believe it.
I realise this is not an ideal situation, unfortunately I don’t have any further options to pack elsewhere nor are there any other packers left that I am aware of that I can work with who could achieve the ethical documents Coles requires.
Speak together further shortly.