New figures show the cost of irrigation water in the southern Murray-Darling Basin has climbed by almost 140 per cent in the space of a year.

A report by water consultancy firm Aither shows the cost per mega-litre in July 2018 was $230, but that number now sits at more than $550 per mega-litre.

Reporter Matthew Bridges spoke with director Chris Olszak.

Subscribe to the National Rural News podcast: http://bit.ly/RuralNewsPodcast