© 2021 Greek Community Tribune All Rights Reserved

Australian growers suffering the effects of war

April 2026 Australian fresh food producers have been swept up in the conflict in the Middle East, with tonnes of product left sitting in cool rooms. Adelaide-based The Yoghurt Shop’s biggest export market is the Middle East, supplying to supermarkets across the region and providing in-flight meals for airlines including Qatar and Emirates. While passengers have been stranded across Australia, companies like The Yoghurt Shop have been scrambling to ensure perishable products get to consumers. Chief operating officer Brandon Reynolds said the disrupted orders included the first deliveries to new customers in the Middle East. “We had around $20,000 worth of product just dedicated to one retailer in the UAE, which is a significant amount of product” he said. Instead, the yoghurt has been stored in chilled warehouses, where teams were trying to determine what to do with it. “If it doesn’t make its way to the Middle East, we will have to discount and get it out into our retail partners in the country so it won’t go to waste,” Mr Reynolds said. Yoghurt is not the only product that has been impacted. AUSVEG’s Andrew MacDonald said the Australian vegetable industry sent almost 60,000 tonnes to the Middle East each year — about 35 per cent of the overall vegetable export volume. He said last year the value of the Middle East market was about $53 million, and included carrots, onions and potatoes. “In the immediate term, it’s probably unlikely those consignments will be able to be diverted into other export channels,” he said. National Farmers’ Federation president and Queensland farmer, Hamish McIntyre, said the conflict highlighted how farmers were at the “mercy of geopolitical tensions”. “Livestock exports have been disrupted and we expect farmers will soon face higher fuel and fertiliser prices,” he said. Mr MacDonald said it was still unclear how the conflict would impact prices. “Growers will be doing what they can to find markets and buyers for their produce,” he said. “But just at the minute we are facing this volatile, uncertain and highly disruptive situation.”
Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia
© 2021 Greek Community Tribune All Rights Reserved

Australian growers suffering the effects of

war

April 2026 Australian fresh food producers have been swept up in the conflict in the Middle East, with tonnes of product left sitting in cool rooms. Adelaide-based The Yoghurt Shop’s biggest export market is the Middle East, supplying to supermarkets across the region and providing in-flight meals for airlines including Qatar and Emirates. While passengers have been stranded across Australia, companies like The Yoghurt Shop have been scrambling to ensure perishable products get to consumers. Chief operating officer Brandon Reynolds said the disrupted orders included the first deliveries to new customers in the Middle East. “We had around $20,000 worth of product just dedicated to one retailer in the UAE, which is a significant amount of product” he said. Instead, the yoghurt has been stored in chilled warehouses, where teams were trying to determine what to do with it. “If it doesn’t make its way to the Middle East, we will have to discount and get it out into our retail partners in the country so it won’t go to waste,” Mr Reynolds said. Yoghurt is not the only product that has been impacted. AUSVEG’s Andrew MacDonald said the Australian vegetable industry sent almost 60,000 tonnes to the Middle East each year — about 35 per cent of the overall vegetable export volume. He said last year the value of the Middle East market was about $53 million, and included carrots, onions and potatoes. “In the immediate term, it’s probably unlikely those consignments will be able to be diverted into other export channels,” he said. National Farmers’ Federation president and Queensland farmer, Hamish McIntyre, said the conflict highlighted how farmers were at the “mercy of geopolitical tensions”. “Livestock exports have been disrupted and we expect farmers will soon face higher fuel and fertiliser prices,” he said. Mr MacDonald said it was still unclear how the conflict would impact prices. “Growers will be doing what they can to find markets and buyers for their produce,” he said. “But just at the minute we are facing this volatile, uncertain and highly disruptive situation.”
Greek Tribune Adelaide, South Australia