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Category: Food Safety / Food and Beverage

Speculation of strawberry price hike doused by supermarket chain

Saturday, 6 Aug 2016 07:29:15 | Ted O'Connor

Tasmanian shoppers have been warned the price of strawberries could double. (Supplied)

Predictions of a strawberry price hike in Tasmania due to a ban on Western Australian imports have been denied by a major supermarket chain.

Three high-risk green snails were found in punnets on sale in Tasmanian supermarkets imported from three separate farms in the same area of Western Australia.

A blanket ban has been placed on Western Australian strawberries pending an investigation from authorities and the product has been stripped from supermarket shelves.

The ban comes at a time when production in Queensland - the largest provider - is down 35 per cent due to a warm winter.

Phil Pyke from Fruit Growers Tasmania said the interstate problems could see the price of strawberries double in Tasmania.

"There's going to be empty shelf space for quite a while," he said.

"At the moment, demand would certainly exceed supply, so if anyone has any produce coming in from Queensland they're going to get a premium price for it."

He said prices, which are usually $4 to $5 a punnet, could double but customers would have to wait and see.

"When we look at other fruits that have been in short supply - bananas from the cyclones - prices can effectively double," Mr Pyke said.

"We certainly hope that's not the case."

But a spokesman for supermarket giant Woolworths denied the claim, saying prices were unlikely to rise, let alone "significantly".

"We're sourcing additional supplies from producers coming into their peak season," he said.

Warning shortage may last until ban ends

Mr Pyke did not expect local availability to improve until the Western Australian ban was lifted.

Before the ban, about 5,000 punnets were being shipped from WA to Tasmania everyday.

Tasmanian strawberries are not in season until late spring, early summer and make up just 2 per cent of national production.

Biosecurity Tasmania said it was the first time the pest had been detected in Tasmania.

A number of independent retailers were also contacted for comment.

A spokeswoman for Coles said Western Australian strawberries were not sold in its Tasmanian stores.

AustraliaPlus


 

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