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eBay sellers are taking advantage of the desperation of Australians searching for a simple slice of beetroot, amid a national shortage of the vegetable.
Listings for overpriced cans of beets have emerged on the e-commerce website, with one seller offering a single 425g can of Edgell sliced beets for a whopping $65.78.
Another seller offered shoppers an 850g can of whole baby Golden Circle beets for $39.09, leaving customers to decide whether they should spend big or go without the tasty vegetable.
The jaw-dropping prices come as consumers were faced with empty shelves due to a national beet shortage after Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the New Zealand-based Golden Circle cannery last year.
However, the cyclone might not have caused such a problem for beet lovers across the country if the cannery had remained in Brisbane, where it was located before Kraft Heinz bought Golden Circle in 2008.
The national beet shortage has sellers putting cans on sale at eye-watering prices (pictured)
Whole baby beets sell online for $39.09 (pictured)
The cannery moved to Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, in 2011.
Focusing on Australian-grown vegetables could help prevent future shortages, and a spokesperson for the Australian vegetable and potato industries’ peak body, AUSVEG, said the situation “highlights the need to ensure Australia has sufficient manufacturing and processing capacity.” of food to satisfy internal needs. .
“As a net importer of canned or processed vegetable products, Australia is often at the mercy of international supply chain factors when it comes to the supply of some product lines,” the spokesperson said.
They said the country’s domestic vegetable supply was one of Australia’s strengths, with an “ability to produce most commodities year-round”.
“This means that any short-term reduction in supply from certain regions of Australia due to weather events or other factors can, in many cases, be covered by production from other regions,” they said.
A Kraft Heinz spokesperson said that while many crops, including beets, were affected by the cyclone, customers could expect their burger to be back on shelves in the coming weeks, and for supplies to normalize in the next few weeks. months.
Beet should return to supermarket shelves in the coming weeks
