Shoppers should be noticing a cheaper grocer shop with the latest Consumer Price Index showing a 10% drop in vegetable prices.
“Prices for three out of the four past quarters have fallen, providing consumers very affordable prices for most of the year,” says AUSVEG Manager of Industry Development and Communications, Andrew White.
“Vegetable prices are now 10.7% lower then what they were a year ago and this reinforces the view that Australian vegetables continue to provide consumers with extremely good value for money,” said Mr White.
This quarter’s fall in vegetable prices of 4.5% came after an increase in the vegetable price of 3.3% in the previous quarter.
“The last time vegetable prices were this low was back in the last quarter of December 2010,” said Mr White.
According to the ABS the most significant price decreases in this quarter occurred in Brisbane and Perth, where vegetable prices were down by 6.5% and 6% respectively.
“Australian vegetables are regarded as among the safest and highest quality around the world, so following this new information, we would hope to see an increase in consumption of Australian vegetables,” Mr White said.
“Whilst this is promising for consumers it highlights the challenges confronting many growers. These include high energy, water and labour costs, the strong Australian dollar, and rising foreign vegetable imports.
“We’d encourage consumers to support our local growers by buying Australian grown vegetables,” Mr White said.
The best Spring vegetables to pick up on your shop include: avocado, asparagus, beetroot and tomatoes
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