Australian shoppers should be prepared to pay more for their roasted spuds, fries and potato salad. Australia is experiencing a potato shortage because of flood-effected potato crops in the country’s southern states.
Shaun Lindhe from AUSVEG, the national peak body representing Australia’s potato industry, says wet weather has caused difficulties in harvesting potatoes, as well as in planting next season’s crop, because the ground is too wet for the machinery to drive on.
“The growers I’ve spoken to in Tasmania and Victoria in particular have had says.
The sector most negatively affected is the dirt-covered brushed potatoes, because of the way they are prepared for sale.
“It’s harder to brush dirt off a potato if it’s wet because it turns to mud,” Lindhe says. “That’s the main issue, so it’s mainly limited to brushed potatoes.”
According to AUSVEG’s Potato Tracker data from 2015, Australians purchase an average of just over 5 pounds of potatoes every month, with brushed and washed potatoes the most popular types. Brushed potatoes currently sell for about $3.50 per kilogram at major supermarkets, but prices are expected to rise as the shortage worsens.
“Because of the nature of our industry, it’s a supply-and-demand-driven industry, so when demand does outstrip supply, prices can go up,” Lindhe says. “We’re expecting within the next few months that supply will return to normal levels, and the prices will sort themselves out.”
Potato grower Des Jennings says that those growers whose crops have not been affected are getting prices “higher than I’ve ever seen.”
Queensland growers are reportedly reaping the rewards and fetching the best prices in 60 years, according to David Nix, Horticulture Industry Australia’s Queensland representative for potatoes.
“We got up to $1,500 a ton for bulk Sebago potatoes, which is absolutely unheard of,” Nix says. “[The] normal price is about $400. Also, Kipfler has been in dire straits all year, and they’ve reached $4,000 a ton.”
Source: SBS