Fruit picking jobs around Australia going unclaimed could lead to supermarket price hikes

Queensland farmers say they’re at a loss as to why thousands of jobs are going unclaimed.

The state’s peak agricultural bodies say tens of thousands are needed across the state’s regions.

Some farmers have already been forced to discard crops due to a lack of workforce.

In Cairns, about 20,000 people are on JobSeeker. There is a similar number in Wide Bay.

A new report commissioned by the agricultural groups found there are about 15,000 seasonal workers needed in those areas.