EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | CONTACT
Australians can expect grocery prices to surge next week, as the nation’s supermarket duopoly, Woolworths and Coles, have both released statements citing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as the cause.
Coles CEO Leah Weckert and Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell took to the press circuit this morning to apologise to customers, stating that the conflict between Iran and Israel is affecting ‘transport and logistics.’
With Iran being a major oil producer, the impact on petrol prices is expected to drive up the cost of freight – and consequently, groceries.
On June 13, Israel launched attacks on dozens of targets, aiming to halt the expansion of Iran’s nuclear program, which it believes is intended to produce weapons that could be used against Israel – the only country in the region currently known to possess nuclear arms.
Iran has since retaliated, and the conflict has now entered its fifth day.
The two countries have been at odds for decades, as Iran’s Islamist leadership has long sympathised with the Palestinian cause and refused to recognise Israel’s legitimacy as a state.
It is not yet known if the US will get involved in the conflict, but the Trump administration has not ruled out ‘further action.’
If so, it’s likely the price of groceries will have to be raised again.
More to come.
