Farmers, SPC reveal concerns of Victorian food supply

Farmers say they warned governments about a lack of food supply in October last year as Victoria prepares for a “very likely” shortage.

Farmers are warning Victorians it is “very likely” they will face a shortage of supplies when shopping for fruit and vegetables in the coming weeks.

With the harvest season almost in full swing, many businesses are experiencing “severe” staff shortages caused by the need for Covid isolation.

It compounds the issues producers faced last year with seasonal workers unable to gain entry into Australia.

And as the state sees Covid cases skyrocket, going above 20,000 for the first time on Thursday, officials admit there are challenges ahead.

Fruit Growers Victoria chairman Mitchell McNab said testing difficulties and result delays were among the issues facing businesses “from pickers right through the supply chain to supermarkets”.

“Fruit supply, along with many other foods, is very likely to be disrupted as we work our way through this Omicron outbreak,” he said.

“Orchards and packing sheds across Victoria are reporting a severe undersupply of workers.

“Those farms who have workers are concerned, despite taking all precautions, if an outbreak occurs on their farm their workers cannot be replaced.

“Fruit has one harvest each year, so workers at these times are critical.”

Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said her organsiations “warned” the federal and Victorian government as early as October.

“The less workers there are to maintain our supply chains, the more vulnerable it becomes, and this directly threatens our food security,” she said.

“Farmers can’t provide the food and fibre needed to feed the country without the means to transport it via our essential supply chains. Our access to the inputs needed to operate is also severely impacted.

“To see this eventuate months later is incredibly frustrating.”

One of Australia’s biggest fruit producers, SPC, said it was in the middle of its busiest period, when it processes and harvests fruits including apricots, apples and pears.

Chief executive Rob Giles said more fruit would be on supermarket shelves shortly, but asked for shoppers to be patient.

The Australian Meat Industry Council said a shortage of meat available for purchase was imminent in Victoria and nationally.

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