Lettuce price surge just the tip of the iceberg?

• Lettuce prices have surged 299% since January 2022.
• Weather events, war and the pandemic have caused a surge in vegetable prices.
• Sky-high prices of veggies are set to stay for at least 6-months.

The days of paying $2.80 for a lettuce at your local supermarket are over with customers now forking out a whopping $11.99 for the leafy green in June, 2022.

And that’s not the only grocery item putting a hole in our pockets, with broccoli also jumping from around $4/kg in January to $11.90/kg in June 2022.

Over just a few months, the prices of vegetables and fresh food produce have skyrocketed.

The price rise follows in the wake of the Queensland and Northern New South Wales floods, — events which wiped out large parts of Australia’s vegetable produce.

Additionally, the war between Russia and Ukraine has caused the price of energy, fertiliser and oilseeds to rise which have increased farmers’ costs of production.

Pandemic-related lockdowns in both Australia and around the world, particularly in China, has also caused supply chain constraints and disruptions to Australia’s farming industry.

Each of these factors has led to a surge in the price consumers pay for vegetables in June 2022.

The surging prices of vegetables over the last few months is rising at a rate faster than overall CPI which was 5.1% in the March quarter, while fruit and vegetable CPI growth in the March quarter of 2022 was 6.7% annually.

The price of lettuce alone has jumped from $3/lettuce head in January 2022 to $11.99/lettuce head in June 2022, a spike of 299.67%.

You can read the full story at Grafa

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