Fruit Growers Victoria grower services manager Michael Crisera said on October 21 that some farmers had had water through their properties, and some still did, but Goulburn Valley growers were more concerned about getting their produce to markets.
“Getting the power back on was good for the coolstores in Mooroopna and Ardmona,” he said.
“Freight has been an issue with many roads closed for more than a week now.
“It’s been good for the packing sheds to now start getting through to the markets in Melbourne, Sydney and elsewhere.”
Forecast rain was also on most growers’ minds.
“Most have had a chance to dry out a bit over the past few days and get on with it but it’s still quite wet, so we really don’t want too much more rain,” Mr Crisera said.
Rain is forecast for the rest of this week, and by 10am on Monday, October 24, towns including Kyabram and Cobram had had more than 20mm of rain and Shepparton and Tatura about 9mm.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it expected the floods in Tasmania, NSW and Victoria would push fruit and vegetable prices up by eight per cent over the next two quarters.
Preliminary modelling ahead of the federal budget predicts the floods will wipe 0.25 per cent of GDP growth in the December quarter.
Despite expectations that damage to farmland will add to inflation, Treasury is still expecting inflation to peak at 7.75 per cent, with lower-than-expected petrol prices offsetting the uplift.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was still too early to put a precise price tag on the floods.
"This is just an initial estimate and the costs could be even more significant," he said.
The latest round of natural disasters will also drag on the budget, with $1.4 billion already provided in emergency payments for flood victims.
There is $3 billion in contingency reserve funding to be spent on disaster payments to help individuals, businesses and communities cope with the initial hardship.
"Responding to natural disasters and building resilience will be central features of the (October 25) budget," Dr Chalmers said.
He said this would be the first time a federal budget would include modelling on the impact of climate on the budget and the economy.
"We see this as part of a much broader effort to engage the Treasury in climate modelling, to engage the Treasury in a regime for companies to disclose their climate risks and opportunities."
The budget will also lock in a labour mobility scheme and include a new visa for up to 3000 Pacific Island and East Timor citizens to move to Australia each year.
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