As La Niña's three-year reign over the Australian weather has come to an end in March, the nation is currently in a ‘Goldilocks period’ of near-perfect growing conditions, resulting in a glut of affordable fruit and vegetables. Victorian vegetable grower Catherine Velisha said: "We're in a real growing flush - this is for most products, both fruit and veg. This has been our first year in quite a long time that we've had so much available stock, with absolutely no disruptions."
A whole head of cauliflower at Woolworths is currently $3, a head of broccoli is $1.19 at Coles and a crispy fresh capsicum can be had for as little as $1. "On average prices are about 40 per cent less than they were last year across the board for vegetables, which is huge," Velisha said. "Things don't get much lower than what they are at the moment, that's for sure."
However, as the world's weather cycle comes full-circle into an El Niño, these prices may be short-lived. As well as a heightened risk of bushfires, an El Niño event frequently brings with it drought conditions.
Source: 9news.com.au
