Fruit and veggie prices to rise after Cyclone Debbie
The price of your weekly grocery shop is set to rise, with the havoc caused by Cyclone Debbie increasing fruit and veggie prices by up to 400 per cent.
The tropic storm struck far north Queensland in March, ravaging the nation’s “produce capital” of Bowen. Despite the cyclone hitting three months ago, the impact of the storm is still being felt across Australia.
The Queensland Farmers' Federation estimates 20 per cent of crops were lost and consumers on the east coast are only now feeling the $100 million hit.
The prices of tomatoes have soared to as much as $10 a kilogram.
“It's mainly tomatoes, capsicums and beans – all of those crops that were grown on the eastern seaboard along Queensland,” produce farmer Wayne Shields told the Today Show.
“It was the middle of planting season when the cyclone came through so that pushed everyone's season back by two, three, four weeks.”
Although the price increase so far has only affected tomatoes, capsicums and beans, Bowen farms also produce chillies, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, pumpkins, zucchini and squash.
However, Mr Shields remains optimistic and says that it may just be a few weeks before supplies return to normal levels. However, the price rise may be here to stay.
“They're probably at the peak at the moment and I suspect in a couple of weeks there could be a bit better supply, but how long before prices drop back,” he said.