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Strawberries
Photograph: Pixabay

Australian strawberry farmers are being forced to ditch fields of fruit

As demand for strawberries plummets, farmers are struggling to justify the cost of production

Written by
Elizabeth McDonald
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You can add the farmers who supply masses of strawberries to cafes and restaurants across the country to the sad pile of casualties struggling under this year's lockdowns. Demand has dropped by up to 50 per cent in some areas and big supermarkets are charging only a dollar per punnet in an attempt to move the backlog.

The result of the strawberry surplus and shrinking demand has forced many farmers to make the difficult decision to kill off fields of perfectly ripe berries. On average it costs $1.30 to produce 250 grams of fruit, making it impossible to justify the cost of growing. From this week, many farmers across NSW and QLD plan on ditching fields worth of fruit.

So what can you do to help?

Queensland Strawberry Growers Association president Adrian Schultz says that café closures have had a "massive impact" on the industry. Schultz continues "the best thing that people could do to help us at the moment is go and grab a couple of punnets while they're at such a good price."

The farmers are encouraging consumers to think outside the punnet and take advantage of how versatile the fruit can be. Try your strawberries oven-roasted with camembert, or with cracked pepper on a pavlova, or go the full provincial and make a few jars of jam. How are you going to have yours?

Looking for more creative ways to keep busy? Check out our pickling guide here.

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