Slice food bill, avoid drought: grow vegies Lucinda Ormonde, John Elder September 23, 2007
RIP out your camellias and plant carrots instead.
That's the advice of the Australian Vegetable and Potato Growers Association, which says growing your own vegetables could help combat rising food prices and a potential shortage of fresh produce because of the drought.
"We're seeing a shortage of carrots and we could potentially see a shortage in potatoes. Lots of growing areas are very short of water," said the association's chairman, Michael Badc/ock. "While there's a bit of product around, you might want to put some away for the future. I think Australian families should be freezing their spare vegetables, and planting some of their own in the backyard."
Mr Badc/ock said food companies McCain's and Simplot (which produces frozen and tinned vegetable brand Edgells) are unable to get enough supply to meet their orders. "This means they will not be able to utilise their entire factories, and this makes for a more expensive product — and retailers who have to charge more for the product," he said.
Calls to McCain's media office were not returned.
Sergio Canale, executive general manager of supply chain at Simplot, would not say outright if there was a shortage, or which products were affected. "It's not as simple as more demand than supply, but we think we can cover it for the moment. In another few months it may be a different case. If need be we will source from overseas and this can be sourced at competitive prices."
Mr Canale added the company "has other options" but wasn't prepared to divulge them. He said: "We do try to use local product as much as possible, but not all crops are available in Australia."
Ausveg has had a long-running gripe with Simplot and McCain's over wholesale prices — and the fact that so much overseas stock has, for years, been used in canned goods.
Mr Badco/ck describes the state of vegetable growing as "not a pretty picture". Winter rains provided hope, and there was a boost in leafy vegetables such as broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower. "But there is not enough rain to sustain many of those crops and irrigation restrictions don't help, either. We won't lose total production, but we will experience a fluctuation in prices."
As for his grow-your-own advice, Mr Badco/ck notes that it's a good time for planting.
"Vegetables that grow above the ground such as cabbage and cauliflower will tend to get eaten by bugs. But if you plant vegetables such as potatoes, parsnip and carrots, they will absorb the moisture and continue to grow. "
As for freezing your produce, he advises: "Blanch your vegetables and then freeze them on a tray before putting them in a plastic bag. Your vegetables should last for up to 12 months."
