Beer prices to soar before Christmas after repeated floods

The price of beer is set to soar ahead of Christmas after repeated floods throughout the year in Australia's prime cropping regions.

The multiple inundations of farmland on Australia's east coast have affected food supply already, but it's now been reported that the barley harvest has been severely impacted.

Not only have crops gone under, but roads have been blocked and harvest machinery waterlogged.

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Increased costs to breweries are likely to be passed on to consumers as a result, with imminent price spikes expected.

Milk and vegetable prices are also set to soar, making for a pricey Christmas shopping list.

However, increased supplies from interstate will hopefully blunt some of the costs in coming weeks.

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NSW Farmers Association president Xavier Martin recently warned a full recovery was a long way off for the flood-hit regions.

"The rains have stopped for now but the flood water will continue to affect farms and communities for some time," Martin said.

He said many farmers had individual repair bills in excess of $100,000, on top of the losses from destroyed crops and lost livestock.

Ongoing concerns about major road closures for post-flood repairs could also significantly affect freight, particularly grain transport.