National Lost Crop Register surpasses $45 million in losses at farmgate value due to worker shortage

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The deterioration of the seasonal workforce is having devastating impacts on the Australian horticultural industry, and with the worse yet to come, it is consumers who will wear the cost. Last week, the National Lost Crop Register surpassed $45 million in losses at farmgate value.

The most concerning factor is the register has only been open since December last year. In the last eight weeks there have only been 65 separate crop losses reported, with more than 85,000 agricultural businesses across Australia.

Imported food only accounts for 15 per cent of Australia's daily food supply, meaning the tightening of supply will likely be felt across major retailers, with supermarket prices tipped to increase.

There are lots of farmers lost their crops after slashing and ploughing, the demoralisation is too much. Queensland has recorded losses of up to $33 million, New South Wales $8 million, and Western Australia $2 million. Farmers believing the situation would continue to deteriorate throughout the year.

To date, by numerical order, the worst affected crops were strawberries, vegetables (broad), blueberries, and bananas. The shrinking of the national fruit and vegetable crop would have a flow on effect to what consumers pay. According to a farmer, supply and demand is a pretty basic concept in economics, you reduce supply while demand stays the same and the price will go up.

According to another farmer, the biggest frustration was the lack of workers and he is losing fruits trying to keep up. In the short term, we know there are a lot of workers in the Pacific nations, they are willing, they want to come out, the biggest problem is the cost. The initial quarantine of one worker cost $4,000. On-farm quarantining should be option in Western Australia, if other states are allowed. The process of bringing in a worker itself is a minefield, that needs to be streamlined.

Western Australian Minister for Agriculture Alannah MacTiernan said the Government has done everything in their power to manage the issue. We can only take the horse to water, there are no miracles, there is nothing that we can do unilaterally to solve this problem of shortages in international labour. We are doing all we can to mobilise a West Australian workforce, subsidising travel, paying for accommodation, and getting workers from Pacific Islands. Realistically, no one was going to open the borders anytime soon to the traditional supply of backpacker labour. We've sought advice from the Chief Medical Officer and the view that we got back to date is that this is a risk for Western Australia. We have seen the impact it can have on so many millions of people if a mistake is made in this area. It would be completely reckless for us to even consider that.