Popular grocery item selling for '30-40 per cent more' than this time last year
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March brings with it a mixed bag of fruit and vegetable prices, as heavy rain continues to impact some of our autumn favourites.
Anton van den Berg, co-founder of Box Divvy, told nine.com.au early citrus supplies including oranges, lemons, and limes have "copped a fair bit of rain and the quality is not the best".
Mandarins normally arrive in supermarkets in April and peak citrus season in Australia is from June to October, which means there is time for crops to hopefully improve.
March brings with it a mixed bag of fruit and vegetable prices. Nine
Shoppers can expect to see the last of summer fruits including cherries, mangoes, and lychees, which are approaching the end of their season, as well as stone fruits like peaches and nectarines.
However, plums are plentiful at the moment and are expected to be available for longer.
van den Berg said melons "should be in peak supply", but the growing region in Hay, New South Wales lost some crops when temperatures hit the mid-40s in February, driving prices up.
"Berries are hit and miss depending on the growing weather conditions in regions," he said.
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Shoppers can expect to see the last of summer fruits. Nine
Apple supplies are ramping up, but van den Berg said prices are "easily 30-40 per cent higher than this time last year".
"This is great for farmers (except they don't have the volumes yet), but not so much for shoppers."
Royal Gala apples, the first apple of the season, are selling for $5 a kilo on average while other arieties are closer to $7 per kilo.
Higher-than-usual apple prices are due to a combination of factors, including less stock in storage from the previous season, adverse weather conditions, and higher operational costs.
At Box Divvy, customers will find seedless watermelons for $1.69 instead of $2.90 in supermarkets, along with Bosc pears that "won't win a beauty contest" but taste great at $2.84 a kilo.
The company is also selling plums for under $6 a kilo, and seedless grapes, which aren't the cheapest they have ever been but are of excellent quality and cost $8-$9 per kilo.
van den Berg also mentioned Shepard avocados, which can be found for $1.25 each and are coming from the growing region in North Queensland, and Hass avocados at $1.57 from West Australia.
Apples are now in season but are selling for 30-40 per cent than this time last year. Nine
"Production [of avocados] has increased by 35 per cent over the past few years, which is filling the gap we'd normally experience during February-April," he added.
Matt Palise from Red Rich Fruits, which supplies supermarkets across the country, told nine.com.au they've had "really good weather" in their growing regions, resulting in a "seamless" transition from summer to autumn fruits.
You're seeing good varieties of everything that's in season coming from two different regions, so you're getting good value in lots of lines," he said.
Palise recommends bananas, kiwi fruit, plums, pears, new season apples and "all varieties of grapes".
Matt Palise from Red Rich Fruits recommends bananas, kiwi fruit, plums, pears and new season apples. Getty
The grapes have come from Victoria and thanks to ideal weather conditions, the "sweet percentage is a lot higher, so they're very crunchy and very sweet".
Palise also recommends corn and iceberg lettuce for giving Aussie shoppers a good bang for their bucks over the next two to three weeks.
Royal Gala apples and pears are in good supply, he told nine.com.au, and over the next month shoppers will also see Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples.
"It's hotter than it normally is in some regions and there's a little bit more rain in some regions that people are used to," he warned.
Royal Gala apples and pears are in good supply. Nine
These changed weather conditions mean farmers have to "harvest differently and do things on the farm a bit differently" to preserve crops.
When it comes to how we store our fruit and vegetables, Palise recommends leaving most of it on the bench for peak flavour. This includes tomatoes, stone fruits, apples, pears, and melons.
"Unless they start to get really ripe, then they go in the fridge," he added.
He recommend "anything green and leafy goes straight in the fridge".
Corn and avocados are plentiful and affordable thanks to peak growing seasons. Nine/Aldi
"But you want to make sure its dry and in the crisper," he said.
Placing paper towels on the bottom of the fruit and vegetable drawers in your fridge is a great way to ensure this.
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