By Mike Foley
Bananas are set to run short in coming days due to floods in north Queensland cutting off transport routes to southern states, as communities brace for another bout of monsoonal rain spreading inland from the coast.
More than 90 per cent of Australia’s banana production comes from north Queensland and flood warnings are in place from Cairns to south of Mackay, 750 kilometres away, with the crucial Bruce Highway closed in several places.
Flooding has cut off transport routes in north Queensland. Credit: AAPIMAGE
Supermarket giant Woolworths said bananas could run short on its shelves as early as next week.
“Key delivery routes for bananas have been impacted,” a Woolworths spokesperson said. “For a short time, customers may notice less bananas nationally on the shelf. We are working hard to return supply to normal as soon as possible.”
Coles said it was too early to say precisely what impact the floods would have on supply.
“We have managed to get some bananas out of Queensland, and are continuing to work hard to find available routes,” Coles said in a statement.
Australian Banana Growers’ Chair Leon Collins said heavy rains were moving westward from the coastal strip, impacting alternate supply routes.
“The Bruce Highway closure is forcing trucks to use inland routes, however it’s slow going and these routes are now also impacted by the rain events,” Collins said.
“Getting the fruit out of cold rooms, which are at capacity due to lack of transportation, is a key concern for growers in the north.”
Heavy rain has fallen on parts of north Queensland, including Townsville and north to Ingham, during the past week. Two people have died and hundreds of people have been evacuated.
Tully banana farmer Paul Lardi cutting damaged crops on his property at Tully, north of Townsville, north Queensland.
The Bureau of Meteorology expects monsoonal rains to hit again in by the weekend, with the rain band forecast to reach farther inland and has the potential to further disrupt alternate supply routes.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took leave from parliament on Wednesday to visit flood-affected communities, announcing an $8 million community relief fund for eight impacted councils, as well as the activation of disaster recovery payments.
The Bruce Highway, north Queensland’s main freight artery, was cut north of Townsville after the Ollera Creek Bridge collapsed.
“We need to build back better. We can’t continue to have a view that you just do the same thing because you’ll get the same results,” Albanese said on Thursday.
“We are seeing in Australia, unfortunately, more extreme weather events and they’re more intense. It doesn’t mean everything is due to climate change. We’ve always had extreme weather events in this country but we are seeing them more often.”
Bananas retail for around 70 cents each. It is too early to tell how much prices could rise due to the impending shortage, but previous natural disasters have driven significant spikes.
Cyclone Nirhan, which flattened large areas of banana plantations, caused prices to rise to several dollars a kilo in 2021.
The biggest price spike came in 2011, when Cyclone Yasi decimated north Queensland and drove prices up to $14 a kilo.
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