Pioneer citrus grower and juicer John Morris’s knowledge of merchandising and branding has been described as ‘second to none’ in the industry, leading to his recent recognition by Citrus Australia in the Citrus Hall of Fame.

Mr Morris says it was his application of those skills to drive growth and returns for Australian growers that brought him greatest satisfaction.

As a youngster, Mr Morris got his start in citrus while still at school, helping with harvest and domestic and export packing to Europe in the late 50’s and 60’s.

After leaving school he developed a 20-hectare orchard on sand hills at Cudgel near Leeton using overhead irrigation.

After seeing an opportunity for providing 100% orange juice in early 70’s Mr Morris and his father David and brother Paul got a group of local families together and built a new juice plant in Leeton.

They established Leeton Citrus Juices in 1972 and launched the Quelch brand which became a household name on the eastern seaboard.

Mr Morris became skilled in supermarket merchandising and produce placement of juice. He learnt on the job and as managing director surrounded himself with people who possessed skills he didn’t. He says, somewhat modestly, that this was the key to his success.

This juicing business was built up to a processing capacity of 45,000 tonnes per year which was 7.5 % of the total Australian citrus production at the time.

Mr Morris was the managing director of this business until it was sold in 1988. Many farms in the Leeton area were developed around this business model and the opportunities that it provided.

Following this, with some partners he purchased a fruit and veg retail business in Sydney which he continued to be involved with for 25 years.

He launched a few pack house operations and was involved in the Riversun program and with his consumer marketing experience took great pleasure in seeing the industry work together under a common brand with serious merchandising and branding power.

Mr Morris with his son Dean went on to develop Moricom orchards in 2005 focusing on easy peel seedless Afourers and launched the Delite brand with a group of like-minded growers that could produce seedless fruit at that time.

He is still involved in the running of the 150-hectare orchard and is highly innovative with the development of trellised citrus systems for various varieties to push towards more picking aids and eventually robotic picking when it finally arrives.

Dean Morris says his father has the ‘growing’ disease bad and can see him in the orchards for years to come.

Mr Morris has been involved in many citrus committees and boards over the years both in the juice and fresh fruit sectors, sharing his expertise in marketing, exports and growing for the betterment of the industry.