Produce prices to spike after push for thousands of pickers netted just 500

Tuesday January 19, 2021

Southern Queensland fruit and vegetable growers say the uptake of government incentives to attract Australians to picking jobs has been “underwhelming”, as their peak harvest season approaches.

February-April is the busiest season for picking on southern Queensland’s Granite Belt. Photo: ABC

Shoppers are being warned to expect higher produce prices at the checkout in the coming months after government programs failed to attract enough workers to address the industry’s ongoing farm labour shortages.

In mid-2020, the horticulture industry warned it was on…

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