00:02In the Outer Western Suburbs of Brisbane, Kieran Murphy is looking closer than ever at his grocery budget.
00:12Running lot expenses for that high, it came really obvious that those, you know, $20, $30 shops, however frequent they
00:24are,
00:24are definitely not stretching as far as the district. It's never a position I thought I really end up in.
00:34With a steady job, and what he considered a good income, Kieran thought he was doing okay.
00:42And now, here I am, you know, early 40s, and what do I have and, um, this isn't enough.
00:55For many families feeling the pinch, food is first to go.
01:0220% of the household's budget cost goes to housing. The next 50% goes to food.
01:13So, the only thing that the households can feel that they can move is in the food.
01:22But those trying to find a better deal are being warned not to take discounts at face value.
01:32They're faced with this, like, plethora of price tags saying things like new or prices down that allude to this
01:43discount that they might not actually be getting.
01:47Inflation has eased from the post-pandemic highs of 7.8% to 3.8% now.
01:57But the war on Iran has reignited inflation pressures.
02:05Skyrocketing fuel prices set to impact everything from how we grow food to how we transport it.
02:14Because the biggest driver of food prices is the cost of producing it.
02:20And with diesel and fertilizer among the biggest inputs, any disruption to shipping routes threatens to drive those costs higher.
02:31We've got fuel at the moment.
02:34But it took us two weeks to get that fuel.
02:38And the big thing was the price shock when we first booked the fuel.
02:43The fuel then only was $1.75 on farm.
02:47And then the next time it was $2.85.
02:53Yeah, it's definitely a problem.
02:57We don't need to have this late and this close to the selling window.
03:04Experts say now is the time to try to boost Australia's productivity.
03:10Go out and talk to the farmers with the emergence of AI, technology and so on.
03:17How can we further get the cost out?
03:20Because this is clearly Australia's comparative advantage.
03:26For many households, it can't come soon enough.
03:30Even with three working adults, food costs are a constant worry in Amanda Mitchell's home.
03:39Pre-COVID, I would estimate that my grocery bill for the three of us would have been around the $250
03:52mark a fortnight.
03:56It's now up to $400 a fortnight.
04:01What happens if I lost my job?
04:04Um, that's terrifying to think of.
04:11Very little buffer if something goes wrong.
Comments