‘Up, and up, and up’: Confronting food price hike warning

There are calls for a national food plan as natural disasters, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions drive up the price of food.

The cost of milk has gone up by 16.2 per cent in the last year, while consumers are now paying 8.6 per cent more for poultry and 12.1 per cent more for dairy.

And chief executive of Independent Food Distributors Australia, Richard Forbes, predicts food prices will rise by between six and eight per cent a year until 2024.

He says there’s not enough money being put towards preparing the food system for disruptions.

“If we prepare for disrupters … we can help stabilise food prices,” he told Neil Mitchell.

“The climate report has just been released by the CSIRO and the BOM. They’re talking about longer periods of drought, more heatwaves, heavier rainfall events and more extreme fire days, so this isn’t going anywhere.

“We are the food bowl of Asia, or seen as that, and prices are going up, and up, and up.”

Press PLAY below to hear what Independent Food Distributors Australia says must happen to stabilise food prices