Aussies will pay at least 20 per cent more for groceries for at least six months due to the impact the war in the Middle East is having on fuel supplies, a supermarket boss has warned.
Ritchies CEO Fred Harrison told the Daily Telegraph shoppers should prepare to see price rises for fruit, vegetables, meat and milk as retailers prepare to pass on rising costs.
‘We have suppliers who are putting on a fuel levy and we are absorbing that,’ Mr Harrison said.
But that absorption won’t last much longer and Mr Harrison predicted prices will rise in the next two to three weeks and continue for at least six months if farmers cut back on sowing due to a lack of diesel.
NSW Farmers economist Sam Miller said predicted price rises of up to 20 per cent may only be ‘the starting point’ because fuel costs are affecting both production and transporters who move the produce around the country.
Transport makes up to a third of the cost of foods like onions, strawberries, mushrooms, kiwifruit and pears and prices for those could jump by 10 per cent.
‘People are saying this is worse than anything since the 1970s. It is hard to be optimistic,’ Mr Miller said.
While the Middle East is known for being one of the world’s most dominant suppliers of oil, also provides up to 45 per cent of the world’s urea.
Ritchies CEO Fred Harrison said Aussies should prepare to see price rises for fruit, vegetables, meat and milk as retailers prepare to pass on rising costs.
Shoppers could soon pay at least 20 per cent more for fruit and vegetables due to the war in the Middle East
It is used in nitrogen fertiliser that encourages high crop yields and is used for wheat and vegetables.
Aussies could soon be paying 30 cents a litre more for homebrand milk, as dairy producers struggle with fuel and fertiliser shortages caused by the Middle East conflict.
Industry leaders have written to Coles and Woolworths requesting a price rise.
A two-litre bottle of homebrand full cream milk currently costs $3.20 at both Coles and Woolworths.
It could soon cost 60 cents more at the checkout, allowing producers to also hike up the price of other brands while remaining competitive.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday announced further cuts to the fuel excise after state and territory leaders agreed to pass on the GST windfall to motorists at the bowser.
Australia’s dairy farmers have also written to the Prime Minister, calling for the sector to be recognised as a priority fuel user.
‘Cows must be milked every day, milk must be collected every day, and it must reach processors and consumers quickly,’ Australian Dairy Farmers president Ben Bennett said.
Oil tankers have been unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz
Master Grocers Australia CEO Martin Stirling said the Australian economy was too reliant on imports and that the government needed to make plans to avoid a similar crisis in the future.
Farmers across the country are paying more than $3 a litre for diesel which is presenting them with some ‘of the hardest battles’ according to Wagga Wagga cattle farmer Paige Hatton.
If the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 per cent of the world’s crude passes through, stays blocked it would cut profitability for four out of five businesses according to Australian Retail Council CEO Chris Rodwell.
A Coles spokeswoman said it was trying to stop cost rises ‘flowing through to the shelf’ while Woolworths has nearly doubled the levy for independent truck drivers.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Iran was causing ‘economic pain’ by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
‘The longer this war goes on, the more significant the impact on the global economy will be,’ she said.
