Strawberry farmers are recovering from Queensland's needle sabotage crisis and shoppers are benefiting from low prices but the news is not all rosy for the industry.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
After several reports of needles being found inside strawberries in September, supermarkets pulled the fruit from shelves, devastated farmers were forced to dump fruit en masse and some staff lost their jobs.
In November, a Caboolture woman was charged with the placing of needles in strawberries that triggered a nationwide food tampering crisis.
The strawberry industry is forecast to be worth $148 million in 2018-19, according to a Department of Agriculture and Fisheries report, 14 per cent lower than the average for the past five years.
"The sabotaging of strawberries that occurred from mid-September 2018 reduced strawberry demand considerably, with supermarkets withdrawing strawberries from shelves," the AgTrends report said.
"This had an immediate and significant impact on consumption and price."
However, the season ahead is looking more positive for strawberry lovers, with production and prices forecast to return to normal levels by the new Queensland season in May 2019.
"The rebound in demand is being supported by high solidarity by consumers, measures to improve standards and training throughout the supply chain, and the installation of metal detectors in packing sheds," the report said.
Despite the impact of tampering, the growing season was good, with record yields and lower prices, according to the AgTrends report.
Most of Queensland's strawberry production comes from Dayboro, Beerwah, Wamuran, Elimbah and Caboolture.
Ashbern Farms co-owner Brendon Hoyle said the end of last year marked a "pretty scary time" for the strawberry industry.
"When people get the jitters and they don't buy strawberries, it has a massive affect on us because the shelf life for strawberries is very short - it's not like you can hold onto them in the cold room until things come right," he said.
"Each day we had no market we had to start killing the crop off."
Mr Hoyle said an influx of strawberries from southern states in recent months had driven prices down for consumers.
He said it was too early to determine what the winter strawberry season would bring but increased demand from Queenslanders had helped.
"The market returned and it was promising. It finished on a good note but the damage was done for the season," Mr Hoyle said.
"Time will tell when the crop comes back into flush what sort of season it will be."
Agricultural Industry Development Minister Mark Furner said it was fantastic to see Queensland's strawberry growers fighting back.
"The Palaszczuk government committed $1 million to help that fight back, including support for major promotions to make sure the winter season will be a big success," he said.
"Queenslanders showed amazing support by continuing to eat Queensland strawberries and I am sure they will keep doing that."
The crisis prompted Prime Minister Scott Morrison to announce legislation to extend the jail time for anyone convicted of food tampering to 15 years.
Police handled more than 230 reports of fruit sabotage across Australia, across 68 brands, with many reports of copycats and hoaxes.
