Popular produce such as tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, blueberries, broccoli and melons have all plummeted in price in Queensland over the past three months thanks to overproduction due to the ideal growing conditions.
However, the dirt cheap prices for consumers do not bring good news for farmers, with many running at a loss just to be able to move their excess supply of stock.
Indooroopilly Fruit shop owner Joseph Guardala said consumers had lapped up the drop in prices, especially in items such as blueberries and strawberries.
“The growers are getting pumped — it just keeps coming off the tree. A month ago bananas were ridiculous; they were over $4 a kilogram — and we haven’t seen that since the last cyclone — now they’re going at $2 a kilo."
“A lot more blueberries are being grown as well so a lot of farmers are growing them now. They will become more and more like strawberries in terms of how they are supplied.”
Jennifer Rowling from Queensland Strawberry Growers Association said the prices of strawberries were set to rise in the coming weeks as the winter supply began to run out.
Coles and Woolworths have frequently sold strawberries for less than $2 a punnet over winter. It is expected strawberries could rise by up to $2 a punnet by Christmas time.
Source: news.com.au
