Not only were crops wiped out in the floods,but farmers in fertile growing regions cannot run tractors on sodden fields to plant more vegetables.
Queensland is a major supplier of lettuce,particularly during the cooler months in Victoria.
The 2020/21 Australian Horticulture Statistics Handbook showed Queensland accounted for 37 per cent of fresh lettuce varieties,compared with 43 per cent in Victoria. Queensland’s production reached almost 51,000 tonnes of lettuce in that year.
This week,Mason’s farm was harvesting the last of its iceberg lettuce crop,which was spread across about 162 hectares. He said the price peak had probably passed for iceberg and there would be a market correction within a fortnight.
But Mason said wholesalers were preparing for more price hikes in other vegetables,including broccoli,amid further supply gaps in Queensland.
“A lot of vegetable lines will be pretty expensive over the next few months,” he said.
In Woolworths’ latest fresh market update,fruit and veg general manager Paul Turner said heavy rain and low sunlight in Queensland had resulted in reduced supply and quality of many vegetables.
“We’re still seeing challenges with lettuce and berry supply,so while the new crops have been planted,it will take a few weeks for stocks to return to more stable levels,” he said.
A Coles spokeswoman said floods in northern NSW and Queensland earlier this year,in addition to recent cold weather,had impacted supply of lettuce,berries,beans,tomatoes,broccoli and herbs.
National Farmers Federation acting chief executive Ash Salardini said the pandemic had also caused havoc for the freight industry,and that was particularly problematic for the highly perishable iceberg lettuce.
He said the extra spoilage of crops might also contribute to higher prices.
“Iceberg lettuce does not last very long,” he said. “It has a very short shelf life.”
AusVeg spokesman Tyson Cattle said the sharp increase in lettuce prices was caused by the lack of supply from Queensland.
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“This time of year,Victoria doesn’t have the capacity to backfill that supply,” he said.
He said farmers in Queensland food bowls,including the Lockyer Valley,were unable to run tractors on flooded fields.
However,he said the iceberg price boom did not necessarily mean farmers who were able to harvest their crops were reaping huge profits.
Cattle said the cost of production had increased by up to 45 per cent in the two years to February. But retail prices had risen only 7.5 per cent in that period,he said.
Cattle said workforce shortages had resulted in many farmers reducing their production levels.
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