Why is an Australian tomato more expensive than a can flown around the world?

Anthea Gaffney insists on buying fresh fruit and vegetables for her two kids, but she’s started to feel the pinch at the check-out. 

The Brisbane sales manager was flabbergasted when she saw the cost of cherry tomatoes increasing from $3.98 per punnet to $6.98 in a matter of months.

“I’m looking at other options now like the corns, the eggplants, the cucumbers, zucchinis — the stuff we wouldn’t normally go to,” Ms Gaffney said.

“It’s something I wouldn’t have considered previously, but with the cost of living crisis that we’re seeing through the media day in, day out, everything’s going up.”

Shoppers have watched the price of fruit and vegetables skyrocket despite canned produce remaining relatively cheap. 

Certain fruits and vegetables are now much cheaper in cans despite typically being grown and processed in several countries before eventually arriving on Australian shelves.

Rural Economies Centre of Excellence director Ben Lyons says there are many reasons for this. 

The University of Southern Queensland associate professor says Australian farmers are seeing steep increases in expenses.

Dr Lyons said costs had increased roughly 30-to-60 per cent in the past five years, largely due to fuel and stronger industrial relations laws.

In comparison, Dr Lyons said tinned produce was typically done very cheaply overseas in enormous quantities by large conglomerates.

He said canned food had a much longer shelf life, meaning it was easier to produce and store in bulk without worrying about spoilage.

Dr Lyons said Australians threw away so much food that it would take an area the size of Victoria to grow it all.

A comparison by ABC Radio Brisbane Afternoons host Kat Feeney found fresh tomatoes at Woolworths were more than twice as expensive as tinned tomatoes.

However, fresh odd-bunch pears were much cheaper at $3.20 per kilogram compared to tinned own-brand pears at $5.12 per kilogram.

Dr Lyons said Australia’s big supermarkets had very strong bargaining power, meaning that farmers often had little room to negotiate.

He said land usage was a growing concern in Queensland, with more farmers deciding to sell their land and leave.

Dr Lyons said this was often due to rising costs not being matched by the wholesale prices offered by supermarkets.

“Let’s face it, the big two or three dictate what the price will be,” he said.

“The pears befuddle me a little bit. I worry for the producer of the fresh pears when I hear that because they’re obviously not making much money.

“One of the challenges the industry faces is that it’s a bit of a black box. The lack of market transparency is a real challenge and we need to question it.”