Scott Morrison push to put food back in supermarkets

Peak industry bodies have welcomed the Morrison government’s push to loosen state-­imposed isolation requirements for critical industries.

Scott Morrison in Canberra on Monday. Picture: Gary Ramage

As fresh produce piles up in warehouses around the country because worker shortfalls are preventing deliveries to supermarkets, peak industry bodies welcomed the Morrison government’s push to loosen state-­imposed isolation requirements for critical industries.

The Australian has been informed that some retail and distribution centres in NSW, Victoria and Queensland are up to 300 per cent full, with transport operators and storeroom companies experiencing major distribution challenges from staff off work because they are infected by Covid-19 or deemed close contacts.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee on Monday released preliminary advice to be presented to national cabinet on Thursday allowing close contacts of positive Covid-19 cases to exit isolation and return to work as soon as they test negative for the virus.

Peak vegetable body AUSVEG chief Michael Coote said the decision to loosen the requirements would help to ensure more perishable vegetables made it to supermarket shelves before they expired.

“Perishable products that have a limited shelf life, including include leafy salad vegetables, broccoli, celery, cabbage and cauli­flower, are at most risk of disruptions across the supply chain given the increased time it can take for product to get from the farm to consumers,” he said.

“We welcome the release of interim guidance provided by the AHPPC and hope a consistent nat­ional approach is adopted so the industry has confidence it will have the workers it needs throughout the fresh produce supply chain to ensure a safe and steady supply of fresh produce from the farm to consumers.”

Australian Fresh Produce Alliance chief Michael Rogers said a relaxation of the measures would alleviate shortages that had been the biggest hurdle in getting produce to supermarkets on time.

“We welcome the decision by Queensland, NSW and Victoria to recognise the importance of the food supply chain and make important changes to isolation requirements which will let people get back to work,” Mr Rogers said.

“These changes will allow supply chains to increase capacity, start distributing again and help put food back on to supermarket shelves.

“Without these changes, the supply chain was at risk of ­stopping.

“We look forward to national cabinet endorsing these guidelines later in the week to make sure fruit and vegetables are on supermarket shelves and available to all Australians.”

Beef, chicken, pork and lamb suppliers have also been hit hard with worker shortages, with Coles and Woolworths forced to reintroduce buying limits on certain products in stores last week.

The Australian Chicken Meat Federation said major chicken processing facilities were operating with only 15 to 40 per cent of required staff, significantly impacting their ability to produce and process chickens.

ACMF executive director Vivien Kite said changes to isolation requirements would help to solve some staffing shortage issues, but called for producers impacted by supply chain problems to be given priority access to rapid antigen tests. “The ACMF strongly supports the position taken by AHPPC,” she said.

“We urgently need to get staff back to work who are not positive and not symptomatic.

“There are plenty of chickens out on farms, but just not enough people to pick them up, process them and distribute chicken products to stores.”

With staff set to return to work sooner than before, some medical experts have warned that the changes could lead to higher rates of transmission in the community, with Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid saying workers could get infected while at work.