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Warm winter sends Queensland capsicum prices plummeting

Cyclone Debbie and an unseasonably warm winter across Queensland have led to an oversupply of capsicums across Australia, causing the price of a box of the peppers to plummet.

Australians were warned to expect to pay more for capsicums after Cyclone Debbie ravaged crops on Queensland’s central coast in late March, where almost 80 per cent of the country’s capsicums are grown.

But an early spring and consistently warmer than average temperatures allowed growers to extend their planting season, leading to a glut of capsicums across the country.

Rural Bank senior analyst Matt Ough said the price of an 8kg box of capsicums had plunged 40 per cent in a year, down from $20 in August last year to $12 last month. The three-year average price is $21.

“The driver behind that was basically an early spring in Queensland, which allowed growers to stretch their growing season into April, then May, then June, right through to August, which has kept the price pretty low,” Mr Ough said.

“So production is up on where it would traditionally be for this time of year.”

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