Australian shoppers could find themselves paying more for fresh fruit and vegetables in coming months; a dry spring forecast adds further pressure on a major farming water supply.
The Murray-Darling Basin, also known as the ‘food bowl’ of Australia, is used as a key water source by more than 40 per cent of all the country’s farms. Hundreds of thousands of farmers, irrigators and business owners depend on that water body, but a drier-than-average spring forecast, teamed with severe water restrictions placed on farmers under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, means a lack of water could increase the cost of produce.
Thenewdaily.com.au reported that the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a bleak outlook, predicting below-average rainfall across most of the country for the rest of the year. An extended warm spell is expected during September, with weekly temperatures likely to be 2-3 degrees above average across central and eastern Australia.