As the price of raw materials like green beans rises from $1 per kilo at the market to a bank-busting $240 for a 10kg tray, cafes and restaurants are at risk of going bankrupt.
That translates to a rise in bean prices of 2,300%, from $1 per kilogram at wholesale to $24 per kilogram.
Insiders warn that the situation is set to worsen since the Ukraine crisis has caused grain prices to soar, which might drive up the cost of meat and dairy products.
Rising feed costs are already affecting egg prices as poultry farmers pass those costs along to consumers, and rising fuel prices will have an impact on a wide variety of items.
Now chefs and cafe owners are struggling to rewrite their recipes in a bid to survive as everyday essentials vanish from the shelves or cost too much to be viable.
‘With everything going up, we can’t find things to put on the menu,’ Vessel diner owner Vicky Vardis from Sydney’s glitzy Barangaroo business strip admitted.
‘I’m annoying the chefs so they do meals at as low a cost as possible.’
Market prices for vegetables have hit record highs in the wake of the floods which ravaged NSW and Queensland farmland, swamping crops and washing away topsoil.
Official government data reveals how green bean prices spiralled exponentially in the space of three months, going up 400 per cent week-on-week at one stage.
‘We would pay less than $10 for 10 kilograms of green beans normally,’ said Ms Vardis. ‘But we were charged $240 at market today.
‘And it’s even worse in the shops – I went to Harris Farm Markets the other day and they were charging $40 a kilogram.
‘I’m seriously worried – not just for the business but for the global economy. There’s a lot going on at the moment.
‘I don’t know what the solution is. We don’t know what will happen from one moment to the next.’
Melbourne’s Brick Lane cafe in the city’s famous laneways has had to raise its prices three times in as many months to keep up with the soaring costs.
‘It’s right across the supply chain – meat, veg, fruit…and with fuel prices going up, that’s just adding to the bill as well,’ said manager Lindsay, who declined to give his surname.
‘It affects the customers most of all as we just keep putting the prices up – but eventually you can only pay so much for something until it becomes ridiculous.
‘You can ruin your recipes by doing swapping ingredients, you can cull some of the foods, you can make them smaller meals – you can do all those types of things.
‘But the customer is the one that hurts whichever way you go, whether it’s putting the price up or lowering the quality or going for cheaper ingredients or changing the recipes.
‘It all comes back down to the customer. They’re the ones who hurt.’
The price hikes for green beans are even outstripping the cost of iceberg lettuces which also hit all-time highs, with the going rate tripling week-on-week in late May to $12 a head.
Broccoli prices also exploded, going up 350 per cent according to the most recent government figures.
And there’s even more pain on the way.
‘Egg suppliers have raised the price of their eggs, mainly due to a large increase in the cost of grain used to feed the birds,’ market specialist Sydney Fresh warned.
‘It is possible there may be further increases. The international supply of grain is a worldwide issue, largely due to the Russia/Ukraine situation.’
Grain is also used to feed cattle and pigs which is now set to impact meat and milk prices in coming weeks, pushing up the cost of even the humble bacon and egg roll.
Snow peas, cabbage, leeks, zucchini, cucumber and cauliflower are spiralling to new heights – if you can even get them – and onions have been on their way up too
Snow peas, cabbage, leeks, zucchini, cucumber and cauliflower are also spiralling to new heights – if you can even get them – and onions have been on their way up too.
Herbs and salad greens like rocket are also desperately scarce and expensive.
‘The flooding in NSW a month or so ago is still affecting the supply of herbs and leafy greens,’ added Sydney Fresh.
‘The more recent heavy falls in QLD have made many vegetables very scarce, such as broccoli and iceberg lettuce.’
But Sydney Fresh offer some hope for the future: ‘The supply issues are temporary and should hopefully ease in the coming weeks.’