Australian Fruit and Vegetable Crops Affected by Heavy Rains and Cold Weather

Fruits

Vegetables

Australia

Published Jul 17, 2022

Australian farmers in Queensland and New South Wales face unseasonal rains and cold weather. Heavy rains are causing floods and over-saturating soil, killing the plants and allowing diseases to spread. The most affected products are beans, snow peas, zucchinis, tomatoes, avocados, and strawberries. It is still too early to determine long-term effects, but forecasts indicate the weather will affect the production over the next few months and seasons.

Australian farmers have faced challenges for many years, and 2022 is no different. New South Wales farmers faced a decade of drought until the weather recovered in 2020, but in 2021 the state faced a mice plague. New South Wales has faced four floods in the past 18 months, and Queensland has faced two in the past six months.

The challenges Australia has faced for many years, plus the ongoing unseasonal rains and cold weather across Queensland and New South Wales, have wiped out crops and have export and local supply very tight. Plantations are underwater with overly full soil and no access to land to protect it. Floods have been so recurrent that roots and orchards have not been able to dry and recover before the next one occurs, killing plants that will take years to re-establish.

Some crops that have been highly affected are beans, snow peas, zucchinis, tomatoes, avocados, and strawberries. Beans and snow peas are reportedly the most affected product since the orchards died because of wet soil. Zucchini plants are dying due to the floods and cold weather not allowing plants to grow. In July, zucchini prices in the Australian market reached up to AUD 80 per box, over double the usual price. Tomatoes are also affected since rain allows the fungi and bacteria that cause leaf disease to expand. Avocado trees in New South Wales are also affected by saturated soil, cold weather, and lack of sun, killing avocado trees due to Phytophthora fungus. Australia was already facing a strawberry supply shortage, and current weather events delayed the start of the harvest in Queensland, increasing the strawberry shortage. Producers claim that they lost over 30% of their strawberry plants due to rain and cold weather.

According to local producers, the floods create an overall loss of 10-20% of their crops. In addition to crop damage, Australian producers face rising labor costs due to labor shortages and rising fuel and fertilizer costs. Altogether, has producers facing economic loss and supply shortages. Even if the weather recovers soon, it is too late to finish planting for next season. At the moment, planted seeds rot before the plant grows, but if producers plant seeds later in the year, crops will face frosts.

It is still too early to determine the long-term impact of the floods, but forecasts indicate supply will be affected in the coming months, and wholesale costs will keep rising. According to the Australian Government, floods might worsen since the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) index is very close to a negative threshold. A negative IOD measures the risk of facing the La Niña phenomenon, and in Australia, it increases the chances of heavy rainfall in winter and spring. The 2021-22 La Niña event ended, but the current IOD level increases the risk of a second La Niña event in 2022.