The food bowls of New Zealand are producing bumper crops of vegetables after a long spell of stable weather, helping push prices down but consumer demand is still weak.
Stats NZ data shows vegetable prices were down nearly 20% in March, compared with the same month last year.
Horowhenua grower Jay Clarke from Woodhaven Gardens said growing conditions had been stable since September.
“Exceptionally good… maybe too good,” he said.
He said yields were high and supply was exceeding demand.
“I would say maybe there is 10% more product kicking around than we would usually expect and the other side of that coin is demand hasn’t really picked up even though prices are substantially down on leafy green vegetables.”
Woodhaven Gardens in Levin produces about 10% of New Zealand’s fresh cut greens.
Clarke said its wholesale prices are down 25% to 30% on last year.
While it’s good news for consumers after storms pushed prices high last year, it’s a hit for growers who are struggling with other costs increasing across the farm, including fuel, freight, and labour.
If the excess vegetables can’t be sold, growers face the difficult decision of having to mow it back into the ground, which Clarke called “heartbreaking”.
“You will take a loss up to the point of the growing cost. But if you can’t cover the cost of then additionally getting it out of the ground and getting it to market, then unfortunately the reality is that you have to plough that back in,” he said.
The Wonky Box, which rescues reject produce and delivers it to subscribers, has been operating for the past three years.
It’s been flat out fielding calls from growers wanting to sell their surplus stock.
Co-founder Angus Simms said the company had saved cauliflower that would have likely been mowed into the ground.
“This week for example alone we’ve been able to procure 7000 kilos worth of cauliflower into our boxes across the whole country.”
He said customers were getting extra veges in their boxes to reflect the cheaper prices.
Principal economist at Infometrics Brad Olsen said supermarkets are passing on the lower prices to consumers.
But he said there’s been barely any shift in demand for fruits or vegetables as households remain cautious with their spending.
Instead, it’s “those sort of quick, convenient, often cheap base price options” – such as pre-packaged meals, soups, and two-minute noodles – that “are at the top of the priority list”.
He said further vegetable price drops are likely “given, again, that supply and demand imbalance”.
“There’s a lot of vegetables out there that people are not necessarily buying as much of. That means there’s more competition and that’s likely to push prices down.”
