Fresh potatoes in short supply due to extreme weather in South Australia

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Fresh potatoes are in short supply on some supermarket shelves across the country. Supply chains have been under pressure due to extreme weather conditions in South Australia including a drought.

Transcript

00:00Up to 80% of Australia's fresh potatoes are grown here in South Australia.

00:07But at Motolo Family Farms in Adelaide's North,

00:10the most recent harvest has been one of its toughest in years.

00:14This has probably been the worst shortage, certainly in 10 years.

00:18I've been in the business for 13 years and it's definitely the worst it's been.

00:24Drought conditions from late last year, followed by cold and windy weather,

00:29have led to lower production and quality issues, including skin staining and cold cracking.

00:35Supply is a little bit tighter generally at this time of year,

00:38so obviously magnified by the loss in yield.

00:41The Riverland, Malley and Virginia are SA's major potato growing areas.

00:46With production down about 20% across the board, prices for fresh potatoes have soared.

00:52But industry experts are confident the upcoming harvest will scale those price hikes back.

00:57Producers will have more product on and consumers should see this being resolved in the next few weeks in the lead up to Christmas.

01:04Fresh potatoes are grown year round in South Australia

01:07and farmers are soon expected to harvest their spring season crops.

01:10But some producers say low supply could last for another month.

01:14We've kind of been managing supply through that period, bringing forward crops where we need to.

01:20Supermarkets can often be picky when deciding what produce ends up on shelves.

01:25But there's optimism superficial standards for fresh potatoes could ease in the coming weeks.

01:30They have relaxed their specifications, but those specifications are very, very high.

01:36So consumers might notice some produce that doesn't quite look the same as it has in previous times, but it's perfectly safe to eat.

01:45An industry hoping to get more potatoes out the door and onto supermarket shelves.

01:50100% Focus Shown

01:54Pokemon

01:56Tempts

01:57Switch

01:59nicht

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