WENDELL HUSSEY | Cadet | CONTACT
Australia’s inner-city, suburban and more urban regional residents have a new thing to shake their heads at this week.
With the price of just about everything skyrocketing, people in more cosmopolitan parts of the country have been shocked to learn that they are now going to have to pay the same price for some essentials as their rural counterparts.
This comes as the price of a lettuce hits double figures, with people now expected to pay what you would in a small ‘independently owned’ supermarket in a town smaller than 5,000 people.
For those who aren’t familiar with the realities of living more than a few hours from a capital city, fresh produce often can cost more than an arm and a leg with smaller supermarkets cashing in on the monopoly they often have over small communities.
The price gouging often occurs despite the town or community being closer to the region of production than the capital city where they sell for a fraction of the price.
However, that’s all changed with the recent price hikes for lettuce.
With some lettuces going for nearly $15 bucks a pop, it’s seen cafes, restaurants, and shoppers trying to figure out an alternative to the bundles of wet paper mache.
While some are happy substituting the soggy rabbit food with crunchy rabbit food like cabbage, others have had to just bite the bullet and act like they are checking out at a local supermarket in places like Brewarrina, Longreach, or Merredin.
“This is how the other 10% live hey,” sighed one local city dweller this afternoon, coughing up an hour’s wage for a lettuce, capsicum, and a small Roma tomato.
“How the fuck do people maintain a balanced diet when fresh fruit and vegetables cost this much?”
“The government should do something about this,” said the apathetic Australian now concerned about the issue after it affected her personally.
“It’s bloody criminal.”
While little can be down across the board, rural supermarkets have promised to keep their profit margins rolling and are considering raising the price of lettuce to near $30 a head.
More to come.
