As a result of recent flooding, Australians will likely have to spend $12 for a lettuce for the foreseeable future.
For the second time in two months, the Lockyer Valley in south-east Queensland flooded in May.
This area south-west of Brisbane grows a large portion of Australia’s winter crops, including lettuce, potatoes, beetroot, broccoli, beans, tomatoes, and capsicums.
As a result of the bad weather in Queensland, wholesale prices for strawberries have tripled, while wholesale prices for blueberries have quadrupled following floods in northern New South Wales.
Consumers will continue to pay more for fresh food for much of 2022, according to AUSVEG, the growers’ lobby group, as other farming regions struggle to keep up with demand due to the Lockyer Valley floods and high petrol and fertiliser prices.
‘It could take a few weeks or months for supply to return to normal levels for this time of year,’ spokesperson Shaun Lindhe told the Daily Mail Australia.
‘When you combine that with supply challenges caused by the Queensland floods, you can see the consequences at the store.’
This shortage could also explain why a head of iceberg lettuce costs $12 in supermarkets, as growers are dealing with a loss of top soil needed for crop yields.
‘Supply has been impacted by the floods, and there may be some shortages not just in Queensland but across the country, as we’re seeing right now,’ Mr Lindhe said.
This was even higher than the overall headline inflation rate of 5.1 percent, which was already the highest since 2001.
Inflation is expected to worsen in the following months, resulting in even higher prices for fruits and vegetables.
The Lockyer Valley floods, according to Rural Bank, are to blame for higher wholesale vegetable prices.
In May, the Lockyer Valley in south-east Queensland was flooded once more.
‘This has also resulted in more volatile prices, with produce being redirected from across the country as a result of the floods,’ it added.
The wholesale price of iceberg lettuce per carton doubled between January and May, rising by 100%, indicating that consumers will continue to pay more, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences on Melbourne market produce.
Between January and May, the wholesale price of blueberries per 125 gram punnet increased by 300 percent, nearly quadrupling in price.
Wholesale strawberry prices per 250 gram punnet increased by more than 200 percent, or more than tripling, during that time.
Food inflation was at its highest level since 2011 even before floods slammed Australia’s east coast again in May.
Consumers will continue to pay more for fresh food for much of 2022, according to AUSVEG, the growers’ advocacy group. The Lockyer Valley floods, along with high petrol and fertiliser prices, will mean consumers will continue to spend more for fresh food for much of 2022, according to AUSVEG. ‘It will take some weeks and months for supply to resume,’ said spokesman Shaun Lindhe.
According to Rabobank senior analyst Michael Harvey, high prices for fruits and vegetables are expected to endure.
‘In the coming months, consumers should expect more food price increases as the effects of greater transportation costs, supply chain interruptions, and other increased input prices work their way through the system,’ he said.
Mr Lindhe said growers had no alternative but to pass on higher production costs to customers as Russia’s Ukraine war drove up crude oil prices at the same time as rains reduced crop yields.
‘Increased freight, petrol, chemicals, and fertiliser costs: most of our vegetable growers are having a difficult time right now due to the high cost of production,’ he said.
‘Planting and harvesting crops will take weeks or months to get that supply back up and running.’
‘Even if it takes a few months for supply to increase, the cost of production is unlikely to fall for a long time due to global economic factors.’