Lack of fruit pickers, natural disasters to blame for rising fruit and vegetable prices

Shoppers are being shocked by their weekly grocery bills as the price of eating healthy fresh fruit and vegetables rises faster than inflation.

Food prices rising are faster than inflation as produce growers struggle to keep up supply and families feel the hip-pocket pinch.

A lack of international students picking fruit, bushfires and cyclones have all hit growing regions in the past year, pushing up produce prices at the checkout.

Recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data suggests the cost of an average food shop increased 2.2 per cent in 2020, well above the national inflation rate of 0.9 per cent and also outstripping wages growth.

Mandy Walker, mother of three, said she had noticed fresh produce prices increasing, while quality declined.

“Our grocery bills have gone up by around $50 to $100 per week. Fresh fruit and vegetable prices have gone up as well as meat,” she said.

“I think if the quality of the fruit and vegetables was better, I wouldn’t be as upset about the increase. Recently my husband came back grocery shopping with no fruit because the fruit was really expensive and they were also of lower quality with some being mouldy.”

It comes as food charities brace for a surge in demand at soup kitchens when Federal Government assistance programs wind up at the end of this month.

Foodbank chief executive Sara Harrup said rising cost of living pressures, particularly with food prices, had pushed many food relief charities to the brink.

“The rising cost of living is a big concern,” Ms Harrup said.

“Many Queenslanders already rely on food relief as they cannot afford to buy the food they need to feed themselves and their families,” she said

“Many Queenslanders live week to week and, as a result, are much less likely to have safeguards against changes in the external environment, including increases in the cost of living.”

Tenisha Gambrill with fruit at The Albion Marketplace. The store has noticed an increase in fruit and vegetable prices. Picture: Richard Walker

Foodbank earlier this month said some 10 per cent of its affiliated charities were turning away people without a meal due to unprecedented demand.

“Since March 2020, Foodbank Queensland has seen an extraordinary increase in demand for food relief from frontline charities,” Ms Harrup said.

“Sadly, rising costs of food will further exacerbate this situation,” she said.

National Retail Association chief executive Dominique Lamb said fruit pickers, traditionally drawn from Australia’s population of international students, had been a major casualty of COVID-19.

“Supermarket sales also skyrocketed last year during the initial hard lockdown period which would have contributed to any price changes,” she said.

Albion Marketplace produce manager George Chris said a shortfall in fruit pickers had seen popular fruits such as oranges and apples, as well as vegetables such as beans, rotting in fields.

“Especially around Caboolture way where we source strawberries, they had to leave some in the ground,” Mr Chris said.

“You can just tell by an average of a sale price of certain items, they’ve all crept up,” he said.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in all sorts of fruit and vegetables.”