Action needed to reduce food prices in remote areas

Published: December 10, 2020

Most grey nomads who have travelled in remote areas will be all too familiar with the sometimes extraordinarily high price of basic items in small settlements

A parliamentary committee has just concluded a probe into the rising costs of food and groceries in remote Indigenous communities … and it has urged the consumer watchdog to act to bring prices down.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the inquiry was instigated by the Federal Parliament in May following reports of an iceberg lettuce priced at $7.89 and a jar of coffee selling for $55 in stores across Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands.

Despite this, the bipartisan parliamentary report concluded there was a lack of evidence of systemic price-gouging taking place in remote community stores.

“While those high prices appear to be reflective of the genuine cost of operating supermarkets in remote communities, this reinforces long-held concerns regarding the food security of people living remotely,” it said.

Most remote community stores operate in a difficult trading environment and cannot purchase at volumes that allow them to negotiate for better wholesale prices while the supply chains for food, particularly perishable food, into remote areas are costly, are often severely affected by seasonal weather conditions.

The committee found complaints concerning food pricing needed to be examined by a body that is equipped to do the thorough, forensic examination that will satisfy the public.

It recommended several measures including for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to conduct a market study of prices at remote community stores.

The Sydney Morning Herald says the committee also recommended the Federal Government support local food production in remote communities and other regulations to encourage the greater use of locally sourced food.

It called for the introduction of a remote community competitive grants program, with a focus on access and continuity of power, improving cold and dry storage in communities and supporting local food production schemes such as mobile abattoirs, fishing enterprises and community gardens.

  • What is the most you have paid for a basic item in a remote area? Comment below.
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