IN FRUIT:
The fruit situation is difficult but nowhere near the problem that vegetables are. The cancellation of many export orders, particularly grapes, has helped here. All grapes are top quality, well priced and at their best this week. Limes remain very reasonably priced and we are seeing an increase in the supplies of Australian Pomegranates.
Peaches and nectarines are coming to an end though there are still some reasonable white nectarines around. Green skin avocados are fantastic and there is a reasonable amount of papaya available. Plum of the week is Black Kat - they are absolutely delicious and October Suns are not far behind them. Apples and pears are excellent and good value too.
IN VEG:
It's almost a question of what vegetable is not at record prices. For most supermarkets and fruit shops, it's nearly irrelevant as they cant get stock anyway. We have just managed to keep our shelves full however the prices on tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, capsicums, broccoli and zucchini are almost prohibitive. Fennel, beans, mushrooms and eggplant are still reasonable at this stage.
In an effort to put a reasonable veg on the table for our customers, we have secured very good quantities of various pumpkins and every shop will have whole pumpkins of some description at $1.99 kg. A reasonable sized piece will work out from six to nine dollars. The good thing is it's all top quality product and will last out of the fridge for weeks if left uncut. Even after cutting, it will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks at least. Sorry I can't offer better news!
