In far-north Queensland, hot and humid weather conditions have led to an oversupply of bananas, causing the price to drop to as little as 15 cents a banana. While in South Australia the opposite situation has happened, recent storms have damaged strawberry crops causing a shortage of supply, leading to prices skyrocketing.
Margy Abbot, from AMJ Produce, told The Advertiser standard 450gram punnets of strawberries were selling at wholesale prices for $7 each - and she's warned they could go up, while being of poor quality.
Strawberries were likely to be sold as a 'service', with retailers breaking even or making a loss in the coming future, it was reported.
They were selling for $7.99 in at least one South Australian retailer, Foodland Frewville, last weekend, The Advertiser reported.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, regular Cavendish bananas are on sale for just $1.50 a kilogram at most fruit suppliers - a direct result of ideal weather in far north Queensland, where 90 per cent of the nation's supply is grown.
Australian Banana Grower’s Council Board member and banana grower Steve Lizzio told Daily Mail Australia the country presently had an oversupply of fruit.
'Growing conditions have been very favourable with warm and humid conditions continuing well into the month of May,' Mr Lizzio said.
Despite the oversupply situation, it could change rapidly with a change in weather, he said.
Back in SA, Ms Abbot said margins on strawberries could tighten further, as there were reports of some growers losing seedlings for the next season as well as their last crop, according to The Advertiser.
She expected the prices to drop in about a month after the later-ripening harvests in New South Wales and QLD became available.
