Latest news with #tomatoes
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Prices skyrocket due to tomato shortage caused by virus outbreak, wet weather
Consumers are paying "never-seen-before" high prices for fresh tomatoes, as the staple product has become harder to come by in recent weeks. Australia's two major supermarket chains have reported supply issues, with all fresh tomato varieties affected to varying degrees. Challenging weather conditions in northern Australia have reduced tomato stocks. Production has also been squeezed by the detection of tomato brown rugose fruit virus in South Australia and Victoria, which reduces yield and quality. The average price of tomatoes has increased by $5 per kilo, according to major supermarket and wholesale suppliers Flavourite. "Consumers are seeing high prices, which they've probably never seen this high before," Flavourite's chief marketing officer, Sam Kisvarda, said. "The weather in northern Australia and virus outbreak in Victoria and South Australia halted supply and that's put more pressure on the market, not having the fruit available for the consumer. "At this time of the year in winter, compared to a usual year, it's about $5 more per kilo on average." The southern states supply tomatoes in summer and autumn, but as the weather cools down in winter, harvesting ramps up in the north. But wild weather in Queensland, including heavy rain and flooding from ex-tropical cyclone Alfred, followed by unseasonably cool conditions, has pushed back production. Tomatoes were planted later than usual in the sunshine state, so there have been delays in the fruit ripening. A Woolworths spokesperson said the current "gap" on shelves has coincided with the "usual annual supply transition from South Australia to Queensland". "The glasshouse growers, at this time of the year, make up a small percentage of what goes into the marketplace; it's really dictated by the Queensland outdoor season," Mr Kisvarda said. The detection of tomato brown rugose virus, which led to the closure of some growing sites, has further limited the supply of tomatoes from southern growing regions, a Coles spokesperson said. "As we work with growers and relevant authorities to contain the impact of the virus, biosecurity measures are in place that are restricting the movement of tomatoes from infected sites," the spokesperson said. The supermarkets are hoping to get more tomatoes back on the shelves soon. "We are working closely with our network of growers across Australia on product specifications and increasing our sourcing options," a Coles spokesperson said. Mr Kisvarda said he expected tomato prices to begin to come down in the coming weeks. "We should be back to normal supply by August or September," he said.
ABC News
7 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Tomato growers forced to think outside the box for new revenue streams
Under pressure from cheap imports, Victorian tomato growers are looking for new markets for their by-products and it might not be what you expect.
The Guardian
14-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for grated tomato and butter beans with olive pangrattato
My favourite breakfast is sliced tomatoes on rye bread sprinkled with sea salt. The best bit is neither the tomato flesh nor the bread, it's the salted tomato water that runs down the back of my hands and threatens to meet my elbows. It's liquid electricity and one of my favourite earthly flavours. It could make a great stock, or a delicious martini, perhaps even a marinade for ceviche, but here it's thrown in at the end to refresh a dish of gently cooked tomatoes, beans and dill. Perfect for dunking anything but elbows into. Ideally, you'll need a food processor or blender for the pangrattato; if you don't have one, tear the bread into small chunks, then toss with the olives, spread out on a chopping board and chop through a few times until you have a fine-ish crumb. Prep 10 minCook 30 minServes 4 6-8 large ripe tomatoes (750g)Fine sea salt 85g sourdough (ie 1 big slice), chopped, plus extra to serve30g pitted kalamata olives (about 8)Extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed1 tsp ancho or aleppo chilli flakes 2 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed – I like Cirio25g dill, leaves picked to get 18g, roughly chopped Grate the tomatoes into a bowl and discard the skins. Add half a teaspoon of salt, mix, then tip into a sieve and set over the empty bowl to catch the juice – don't discard the juice. Put the sourdough and pitted olives in a food processor and pulse to fine breadcrumbs. Put two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil in a pan on a medium heat and, when hot, add the bread and olive crumbs and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until dry and crumbly. Put three tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat and, when hot, add the crushed garlic and the chilli flakes, and cook, stirring, for two minutes, until fragrant and light brown. Tip in the drained beans, the tomato pulp from the sieve and a half-teaspoon of salt, turn up the heat to high and cook, stirring every now and then, for 10 minutes. Tip in the reserved tomato juice from the bowl and half the dill, and stir to combine. Tip everything out on to a lipped platter, scatter the breadcrumb mix on top and finish with the remaining dill. Drizzle liberally with more extra-virgin olive oil and serve with toasted sourdough to ladle the beans on top of.
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
Seeing red: the humble tomato's fascinating story, from organic gardens in France and Thailand to Michelin-starred restaurants the world over – and ketchup's roots as a fish sauce from southern China
Every summer, chef Guillaume Galliot receives a special delivery from 10,000 kilometres away – organically grown tomatoes from his mother Myriam Deschamps' garden in Tours, in France's Loire Valley. He takes the juicy, sweet tomatoes and celebrates the fruit at Caprice, the three-Michelin-star French restaurant at the Four Seasons Hong Kong. 'When we started nine years ago, we got the tomatoes in mid-July, but with climate change, we now get them in August,' Galliot observes. His mother grows more than 30 varieties – including German Gold, Charlie's Green, Oxheart and Pineapple – not in a greenhouse, but in an open field. She starts growing the tomato seedlings in her home in March, transplanting them into the garden at the end of May, with ripening occurring in July or August. Caprice in Hong Kong uses tomatoes grown by chef Guillaume Galliot's mother in France. Photo: Handout Advertisement The French chef says the harvest yields some tomatoes that are sweet, others that are delicate and juicy, and yet others that are dry, in colours ranging from red to yellow and even white. 'Every year we create new tomato dishes for lunch and dinner at Caprice,' explains Galliot. 'We start working on the recipes in June with tomatoes from France or Japan because the season is short – about two, two and months.' Resulting dishes include strawberry panna cotta with tomato water, and Parmesan tart with fresh tomatoes. Galliot says that tomatoes damaged in transit are made into a concassé, which sees the fruit deseeded, peeled and added to lobster bisque. Galliot grew up eating tomates farcies, or baked stuffed tomatoes, prepared by his mother and paternal grandfather, who grew tomatoes in his garden. Tomatoes from France's Loire Valley, used in a dish at Caprice. Photo: Handout The tomatoes are hollowed out before being stuffed with ground pork seasoned with parsley, breadcrumbs and the tomato flesh, then baked and served with rice. 'The juice from the tomato is very flavourful,' says Galliot of the rustic dish. Tomatoes are a good source of vitamins C and K, potassium and folate, and are rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. The fruit contains the antioxidant chlorogenic acid, which can lower blood pressure, and the skin has the flavonoid naringenin, which can help decrease inflammation.
ABC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Queensland farmers urge home gardeners to be vigilant as tomato virus strategy shifts
Queensland farmers are urging home gardeners planting tomatoes, chillies and capsicums to be vigilant over fears a highly contagious virus will spread. The state is continuing to restrict the movement of seeds, plants and fruit, as well as machinery, equipment and packaging from areas affected by tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). First detected in South Australia last year, it has since been found on a farm in Victoria, but experts and industry have abandoned eradication efforts and will instead move to a management strategy. Farmers, fearing hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, are pleading with industry and home gardeners alike to hold the line. The virus is not harmful to humans, but causes brown or yellow spots to appear on leaves, fruit and stems of tomatoes, capsicums and chillies. The infected fruit can ripen irregularly or be deformed. It can reduce crop yields by 70 per cent, and there is no treatment or commercially available varieties of tomato that are resistant to the disease. Acting Victorian chief plant health officer Stephen Dibley said efforts to rid Australia of the virus had failed. "The biology of the virus makes it very hard to eradicate," Dr Dibley said. Queensland remains free of the virus, but Dr Dibley said there could be undetected cases. "We're still trying to understand where these new detections have come from." As well as tomatoes, Queensland grows 66 per cent of the national capsicum crop and 90 per cent of the chilli crop. Biosecurity Queensland chief plant health manager Michael Reid said the movement control order was extended for three months on March 16. Once it expired, Mr Reid said a team of experts would revisit the order to assess the risk to Queenslanders and production systems. "We will be taking a risk-based approach to our regulation, making sure that we protect our industries," he said. In significant growing areas like Bundaberg, farmers are conducting voluntary in-field testing for peace of mind that their crops are virus-free. Over the past 10 months, farmer group Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers has held almost weekly biosecurity meetings to monitor where locals are sourcing their seedlings from. Chief executive Bree Watson said the National Management Group's decision would change how farmers managed and monitored the virus. "It shifts the responsibility for monitoring and containing it more onto industry and individual businesses than it does on government departments," Ms Watson said. She urged home gardeners to take part in the biosecurity effort and learn what to look for in their own vegetable patches. "They should be checking their plants regularly for anything that's showing signs of disease." Ms Watson said it was especially important for home gardeners to make sure their seeds and seedlings came from reputable suppliers. Despite being far from the southern border, north Queensland's tomato-growing region around Bowen, south of Townsville, was on high alert. "This tomato virus is a little humdinger," Bowen-Gumlu Growers Association president Carl Walker said. "We've got hundreds of millions of dollars a year just in tomatoes alone in this region … it could seriously destroy the tomato industry across Australia if it's allowed to spread. "It's a wake-up call for all growers to be very vigilant with their biosecurity because it can destroy our industry just, bang, like that. "If we do get it, God help us … it's hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of production and thousands of jobs, which is not what our economy needs." While the state has yet to contend with an outbreak, the virus is already causing losses. New Zealand suspended imports from all Australian states apart from Queensland when the virus was detected in South Australia. Tomato and capsicum seeds from Australia must also be tested before they arrive. In 2023, Australia sent more than 530,000 kilograms of tomatoes to New Zealand. While exports account for only a small portion of sales compared to the $500 million domestic market, Ms Watson said it was a vital avenue for growers who had access to it. In a statement, New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries said: "We are closely monitoring the situation in Australia and if there is any significant change in distribution, or which crops it (ToBRFV) is affecting, we will review the current import rules." "Although Australia has announced they will no longer be pursuing eradication, all of the controls that have been in place to limit spread of the virus remain."
