General
Farm worker shortage could mean more expensive, lower quality fruit and vegetables this summer
Australians are being warned they could be paying a lot more at the checkout for their fruit and vegetables this summer, and possibly taking home a lower-quality product.
Key points:
- WA’s horticulture sector has been hit hard by a shortage of casual workers
- Some businesses are harvesting 50 per cent less produce than in other years
- Growers say a softer WA border is unlikely to fix the worker shortage
Premium fresh vegetables are being fed to livestock on some West Australian farms because the horticulture sector cannot find enough staff to pick, grade and pack its produce.
The worker shortage has already resulted in less fruit and vegetables being harvested across the state’s key food bowl regions.
Fruitico, the state’s largest table grape…
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