Shortages of products such as iceberg lettuce, caused by heavy flooding and supply chain disruptions, saw prices soar in recent months, to the point where fast food giants such as KFC and Subway were substituting cabbage in their products instead.
But Fred Harrison from Ritchies IGA in Melbourne said things were looking up.
“I think the weather has got a lot to do with it,” he said.
“We have seen a moderation from the rain, and the crops are in and growing, and bring on the warm weather because that’s going to continue to help.”
He said red and green capsicums were down a couple of dollars a kilogram, as were zucchinis.
“Lettuce prices are coming back. We remember the story about lettuce getting to $12, it is getting back to $7, and broccoli is down a couple of dollars a kilo,” Harrison told Today.
But he admitted some products would remain stubbornly high-priced, including tomatoes and green beans – the latter of which had reached about $30-$40 a kilogram.
He said sweet corn was also “very hard to get”.
“That will improve as the weather maintains and the crops come through,” he said.
“The new season of pumpkins coming through, it will become cheaper over the next few weeks.”
Harrison said shoppers had reason to feel a little optimism after a horror year at the checkout.
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“Barring any major disasters with rain, we should look and see produce prices continue to fall through to Christmas,” he said.
“Every week they’re coming down maybe $1 a box, $2 a box. It is not a lot but hopefully by the time we get to October or November, pricing will be a lot sharper.”
