Fruit and vegetable prices 'could double' in a decade as power and energy costs grow

Australians are being warned that the price of fresh fruit and vegetables could double within a decade, as farmers face increasing pressure from rising labour, electricity costs and weather extremes.

Some growers have resorted to planting b-grade s
tunted and burnt runners, just to get plants in the ground.

At Luigi Coco's Elimbah strawberry farm near Caboolture in Queensland, many of the paddocks that should be filled with a million young plants are still empty.

And drought ravaged strawberry nurseries at Stanthorpe in south-east Queensland are running weeks behind schedule.

Read the story from ABC News by Jennifer Nichols and  Lydia Burton - “Fruit and vegetable prices 'could double' in a decade as power and energy costs grow.”