Shoppers Feel The Pinch In The Hip-Pocket Amid Food Supply Chain Chaos

“Prices are going to rise”

Back hip pocket strain at the checkout is expected to eat into household budgets for the rest of the year.

Due to a combination of the war in Ukraine, which has led to escalating fuel costs, labour shortages due to the pandemic and weather disasters - “unprecedented” pressure and chaos is overwhelming Australia's food supply chains.

Australia Today's Steve Price speaks to AusVeg spokesman Tyson Cattle on why fruit and veg prices are rising.

With speciality tomatoes and lettuce varieties hitting an all-time high, green vegetables will soon follow, with zucchini, beans and broccolini all expected to jump in price, along with berries, milk, beef and other pantry staples.

As farmers are forced to pull back on their operations, shoppers are being warned to expect more items being unavailable on supermarket shelves.

The east coast has also felt the pinch of this year’s 'extraordinary' rain events, with Victoria, who rely on Queensland producers during winter, left high and dry without produce, AusVeg spokesman Tyson Cattle told Australia Today.

"We are also dealing with significant costs in production pressures and have been for the last two years essentially, same as everybody"

"Fertiliser prices, chemical prices, wage costs, fuel costs, you name it everything has gone up for a horticulture business," he said.

"I guess the Queensland events has really seen a sharp rise, and we are really now just seeing them".
- Tyson Cattle

Meanwhile, Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano warns many farmers were still not covering their production costs and consumers were likely to see more shortages.

“I think we’re going to see more of that as we go on,” she said. “It’s inevitable prices are going to rise.”

While, Rabobank senior analyst Michael Harvey told The Age, that escalating prices on fuel, fertiliser, and chemicals are only one component of the supply chain crisis, compounded by labour shortages caused by Covid.

“There’s certainly elements of what’s going on at the moment that you’ve seen in the past,” Harvey said.