Choose local fruit and vegies and save
Vegetable price hike has mums and businesses looking for a plan B
THE cost of fruit and vegetables has soared due to the hot and dry summer in the south.
Celery, tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli have doubled in price.
Mareeba District Fruit and Vegetables Growers Association chairman Joe Moro urges people to back local growers.
“You’ll get good value for money and get a better deal and support local farmers if you buy local,” he said. “There are lots of avos available now and at places like Rusty’s and some stallholders on the side of the road have some good deals ...”
Snoogies owner Aaron Bradshaw says watermelon and pineapples, cucumbers and avocados are well-priced and a good substitute.
HOT, dry conditions down south have increased the cost of some of our favourite vegetables and Far Northern businesses are feeling the pinch.
Shaun Lindhe of AUSVEG, the industry body for Australian vegetable and potato growers, said the higher cost of tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower had been caused by unusually high temperatures in Victoria and South Australia.
“There was quite a string of hot days over summer in our southern growing regions in Victoria and South Australia and in Victoria there has also been some crop damage from hail,” he said.
“Because of the supply and demand-driven nature of the industry, prices have gone up.
“These things do occur from time to time. Normally there is a part of the country which has a supply issue, but when it does happen it’s a short term (occurrence).”
Offsetting those short-term price hikes is something Snoogies vegan salad and juice bar owner Aaron Bradshaw dealt with often. He said the price of celery, tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli had gone up 100 per cent recently.
“We don’t put our prices up because we know it’s going to come down again eventually,” he said.
“All of our meals and juices are a combination of fruit and veggies so we try to use more of cheaper stuff in place of the more expensive product.”
Mareeba District Fruit and Vegetables Growers Association chairman Joe Moro said: “There are lots of other options if people are finding certain fruit and vegetables are too expensive.
“You’ll get good value for money and get a better deal and support local farmers if you buy local. There are lots of avos available now and at places like Rusty’s and some stall holders on the side of the road have some good deals floating around.”