ISSUE 51 — FEB 2020
Bushfires cause a sombre start to the year Devastatingly, early this year, bushfires ripped through Victoria’s farmland in East Gippsland and the north-east. More than 10 million hectares have burnt across Australia due to this fire season, and as the warm weather seesaws, there is no definitive answer to that number increasing or not. An estimate of 67,000 people fled from the fires in Victoria, and at least 200 homes have been confirmed destroyed in the bushfires, with the number expected to rise. The fires have burnt through 1.2 million hectares in the states east and north-east, many of those being farms and agricultural areas. The full scale of destruction is yet to be calculated, but we’re sure to find out in the coming months. Many of the market community were directly affected, with grower’s farms and crops being lost during the fires. One of the suppliers of Flavorite, Pure Gold Pineapples, lost a substantial amount of their farms. The Brooks & Sons Farm in Bungundarra lost some of their pineapple crop, sheds, and farming equipment. Director at Flavorite, Grant Nichol, says, “The impact has hit hard with some suppliers losing about a third of their crop. It will take about 4 to 5 months to get farms up and running again.”
The Government has pledged to provide $50 million to set up Bushfire Recovery Victoria. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said this agency will provide support across the state due to the current crisis and will remain for any future needs. The Agriculture Victoria Relief and Recovery Incident Management Team has been established by the Victorian Government to assist farmers affected by bushfires in East Gippsland and north-east Victoria. Agriculture relief operations will be coordinated for all fires in the Upper Murray and Gippsland regions. The team will also oversee relief in other fire-affected areas for the rest of the summer. Due to the devastation of the amounts of livestock lost to the fires, 21 private vets will work in the relief centres based in Upper Murray to assist Agriculture Victoria with animal welfare cases. Early 2020 it was estimated that ‘1,150 confirmed livestock losses in the Upper Murray area and 150 in Gippsland across dairy, beef, and sheep — with more than 3,500 animals still reported as missing across both regions.’
The impact has hit hard…
“The fires caused a number of impacts on the markets as well. Due to the restricted transport to growers close to the bushfire regions, some markets were oversupplied, and some were undersupplied, this ultimately affected the price of the produce and then pushed the market price down.” Short supply was seen all over the country with little produce going from Adelaide to Perth. Prices rose in some states and plummeted in others, and direct supply from state to state was short.
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Fresh State and the Melbourne Market Authority have set up a bushfire appeal fund to support those who have been affected by the bushfires. So far $34,412.85 has been raised! If you would like to donate to the Melbourne Market bushfire appeal, please visit melbournemarkets.com.au/news-events/ melbourne-market-bushfire-appeal.
