Shoppers could pay more for their fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and dairy products as the bushfires and ongoing drought take a toll.
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A spokesperson for the vegetable industry's peak body, AUSVEG, warned the extent of price increases was hard to predict in a supply and demand-driven industry, but said the best way to help growers and farmers was for shoppers to continue to buy fresh Australian produce.
The spokesperson said while the exact impact of the bushfires on growers was still being assessed, there were definite short-term issues caused by the widespread road closures.
"These logistics issues are very specific to the current bushfires," he said.
"But continuing to buy fresh produce is a great way to support the industry in the longer term."
Apple growers at Batlow are still assessing the exact damage to their trees and equipment after the recent fires, as are other producers such as Tumbarumba's blueberry producers.
Batlow apple producer Scott Montague said while losses will have an impact of apple supply, "there will be a significant crop of high-quality apples from the Batlow region available for sale across Australian in the coming season".
At the same time as AUSVEG has warned there could be price hikes, federal Minister for Agriculture Bridget McKenzie has called on supermarkets not to put pressure on farmers.
She said now "was the time for big chains to step and do more than talk about being fresh food people".
Senator McKenzie's comments come at the same time as government estimates reveal there were about 19,000 farmers, foresters and fishers in regions hard-hit by blazes.
"In terms of prices of food, you might have seen reporting that supermarkets are letting the Australian public know that they'll have to pay more for their red meat. Yes, you will," she said.
"Now, processors are doing the right thing by farmers, by actually paying milk cheques when in many cases they're not getting the product and therefore that's having an impact on their business.
"It's up to the supermarkets to not just talk about being the fresh food people, but get on with supporting in a very real and tangible way because farmers don't grow food for free. It's a business. I know we like to get all a bit romantic about it, but the reality is it is a business..
"They need to make a living and that means we need to pay the cost of producing the food and through tough times such as we're experiencing now, drought and bushfire are severely impacting input costs about farmers and now our processes in the supply chain so the other end of the supply chain needs to stump up."