As farmers come to terms with the catastrophic loss of livestock from flooding in Western Queensland, consumers are being warned to expect price rises.
An estimated 100,000 head of cattle, sheep and goats have been lost or killed and that number is set to rise as the true scale of the damage is assessed.
James Cook University adjunct professor Colin Dwyer, who has previously analysed supermarket prices, said consumers could expect similar rises to those seen in the wake of disasters such as the 2019 north-west flood. "We noticed that there was an increase in the price of beef and various other cuts for consumers at the grocery outlets," he said.
An estimated 664,000 livestock died in the 2019 disaster and the damage bill was estimated at nearly $2 billion.