John Murphy: Vegetables NZ Chair on the impact of the severe weather in Nelson-Tasman on produce

The recent wild weather in Nelson-Tasman could push up the price of our produce.  

Growers faced weeks of heavy rain and flooding that's damaged infrastructure, affected harvests, and disrupted supply chains.  

There are concerns about saturated soils meaning growers can’t plant new crops, affecting vegetables like broccoli, lettuces, and spinach.  

Vegetables NZ Chair John Murphy told Heather du Plessis-Allan the market responds quickly to shortages. 

He says we will see prices grow marginally.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Food prices have shot up again. Data show that they
have climbed four point six percent in the year's dune,
our largest increase since late twenty twenty three. And yees, butter,
you did not imagine it. It went up nearly fifty percent. Now,
John Murphy is Vegetables New Zealand's chair and with.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Us Morning John, Morning Heather.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Now, how much is fruit and veege has goneup? Is
it five percent?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Vegetables itself is point eight of a percent, and so
it's five percent for fruit and vegetables. But I actually
think that the figures are a bit screwy, to be
honest with your head, that they don't quite make sense.
Because if you go down to Walworth today, a broccoli
is two dollars. So I think there's something there where
the economist community maybe need to have a look at that,

(00:41):
because it's actually pretty important that we get real clarity
on what's good value at the moment.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Is that good value for a broccoli?

Speaker 2 (00:50):
It's very good value. It's very good value. And I
think I think you mentioned it earlier that a lot
of this is seasonal as well, and people by seasonally
they really do do well. And we're edamant that buying
more free sh healthy food, free s, healthy fruit and vegetables,
it's good for New Zealanders, it's good for their pocket
and it's good for the future of New Zealand. And

(01:11):
to be fair, there are some storms coming and on
the resource management front, so we really want to make
sure that we follow through what the government is intending
at the moment so that we don't see sustained high
prices in the future.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Okay, So what do you think is going on with
the economists and the price of broccoli.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
I just think that I mean, I note that there's
more figures being released on Monday, but I think if
you start with a low price and you add a
percentage to it, it's still a low price. And so
over the recent periods vegetable grows have really struggled. Actually,
I think we're looking at historically low prices and so
an increase still means that prices are low. But really

(01:56):
we've got to look at what is it important for
us to have access to as a country, and clearly fresh,
healthy food should be one of them.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
Now, what is going on with the weather down in
the top of the South Island and the vegetables that
will be impacted there. What should we be what should
we expect to see at the supermarket.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
Look, I think that over the next couple of months,
as you often do in winter, you will see prices
increase marginally, And it really depends what happens going forward now.
But that's the dramatic side of it, and I have
to say there's some real damage in that area, and
I've heard some real horror stories for people growing peers

(02:37):
or indeed our vegetable grows and so on and so forth.
So there's a big clean up effort there. Look, when
Cycling Gabriel hit in the Gisbone area in particular, we
saw fresh cut green supply impacted by around fifteen percent,
prices increased by three hundred percent, and the market really

(02:59):
does respond quickly too. Shortages like that. That's not good
and that's why it's really important that in those key
areas we get permitted activity, so the likes of Hotfenewa
and Northern way Kado. That's the headline at the moment.
If regional councils continue to limit rotation in those areas

(03:20):
despite good environmental practice, we will see a massive increases
and prices going forward that needs to be sorted.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
John, it's good to talk to you. Look after yourself
as John Murphy our Vegetables New Zealand chair.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
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