Diesel Prices Crush Australian Wine & Almond Growers

0:00It's April 19th. Welcome in. This is Sydney News Today, where local news meets AI. I'm Corey with the story. Wine and almond growers down under are getting slammed by sky-high diesel prices right now, especially during harvest season. In South Australia's Riverland and spots like Laxton, they're dealing with global over-supply keeping prices low for their crops, plus unseasonable. Rain, heat waves, and vines hit hard. People costs are eating into budgets when they need every dollar just to keep machines running. The federal government stepped in by having the national fuel excise for three months, dropping prices by about 26 cents per liter, but farmers say it's not enough to ease the pain at the pump. Harvesting equipment guzzles, diesel, with some outfits shelling out over $500 every few days to stay operational. Growers are feeling it personally. One-third-generation vineyard family is turning to side hustles like baking cupcakes to make ends meet, since borrowing just isn't cutting it anymore.

1:00Industry heads call this the toughest financial crunch they've ever seen, with returns below production costs and no room to pass on expenses. Meanwhile, almond harvesters got delayed by rain and humidity, leading to quality issues from rot and pests, and they've been scrambling for fuel. Supplies Leaders report using a million leaders a week nationwide, with fertilizer access now becoming another headache for post-harvest needs. All this means tighter belts ahead, maybe less labor or fewer sprays, but consumers won't see almond or wine prices jump due to that over-supply glut. Leaders are absorbing the hit as they push through this rough patch.