The price of hot chips could rise this festive season due to a shortage of fresh potatoes due to recent wet weather on Australia’s east coast.
Key points:
- Coles has introduced a purchase limit of two items per transaction
- Pubs and takeaways may need to offer alternatives or increase the price of chips
- The NSW Farmers Association said there was no shortage of fresh potatoes
According to the Hotels Association of Australia, this has been exacerbated by international shortages and supply chain and transport issues.
The national hotel association says floods in Australia and droughts overseas have crippled supply, with prices set to rise by up to 40%.
And while hot fries have been a staple of pub lunches and takeaways across the country, customers may soon find alternatives on the menu.
“The rise in the price of potatoes puts more financial pressure on pubs who are already facing rising costs such as electricity, beer consumption, bar drinks, transport and staff,” said AHA National President David Canny.
“Already, in the run-up to Christmas, places are being warned to start using other vegetables with meals instead of the traditional chip, or of course there’s always the option of healthy salads for pub-goers.”
Supermarket giant Coles introduced a temporary purchase limit of no more than two items per transaction on Thursday.
This is to help “maintain availability for all customers”, Coles said in a statement.
“Bad weather in the eastern states has affected the supply of some frozen potato products across the industry.
“We thank customers for their patience as we work hard with suppliers to minimize disruption and return stock to normal levels over the coming months.”
A Coles spokesman says the bad weather has reduced supplies of frozen potatoes and it is working to bring stocks back to normal levels. (ABC News: Raveen Hunjan)
While drought overseas has hampered potato production, flooding in NSW and Victoria has disrupted crop replanting here.
Potato grower Geoff Moar from the southern Riverina district in NSW, near the border with Victoria, said he was experiencing the delay.
“We are now in the period where the crop is growing in the paddock and it is well behind its normal time because of the wet weather,” he said.
“The shortage will be felt over the next six months.”
Multi-pub operator Lewis Leisure, which has hotels in Qld and NSW, said if the chip supply shortage stretched beyond six months, the cost could have to be passed on to customers.
“We use around 200,000 kilograms of chips a year across our four sites, so we could have an extra cost of half a million dollars over a year,” Lewis Leisure boss Brad Jenkins said.