One of Australia’s big lettuce producers forecasts that prices for the in-demand vegetable will begin to ease from next week. John Said, the chief executive of vegetable producer and supplier Fresh Select, said the recent heavy rain had a huge impact on the market. “We’ve had two floods. The first one, a while ago, has saturated our soils and made it very hard for us to plant. The second flood, not long ago, completely wiped out all the crops we had in the ground,” he said.
Said added that replanting was causing a massive supply gap, with the only lettuce harvestable being those that had survived the floods. “We’re seeing these price hikes because of supply pressure,” he said.
The farmer has been surprised by the high prices being fetched, with a box of 12 lettuces selling to retailers for up to $100.
Source: thenewdaily.com.au