Australians face worse fresh food shortages unless Covid isolation rules ease, industry warns

Australians may be unable to buy fresh produce at supermarkets while fruit and vegetables are left to rot on farms unless staff shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic are fixed, the industry’s peak body has warned.

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Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Michael Rogers, the chief executive of the Australian Fresh Produce Alliance, said there was a “significant risk” of such a situation.

The industry is calling for seven-day isolation times for close contacts who test negative to be done away with so that workers who are cleared of the disease can immediately return to work.

Related: Staff shortages batter Australian economy as Covid surge leaves half of some companies’ employees unable to work

He said the pandemic had halved the workforce available to some companies, with transport and distribution hubs worst hit so far. However, he said he expected that if nothing was done to address the staff shortage it would soon follow the spread of Covid-19 across Australia and hit farms and packing businesses in rural Australia.

“Through all of Covid, the food supply chain was continuing to operate,” he said.

“So we’re very realistic and pragmatic about the way forward. But what we’re trying to say is we’re in the worst position that we have been through Covid.”

Exploding coronavirus numbers, which reached close to 80,000 on Friday, due to the highly infectious Omicron variant and the opening up of the economy, have kept people away from work as they either await a hard-to-find test, isolate because they have been a close contact or are sick.

The lack of staff has pummelled businesses across the Australian economy, leading to cancelled flights, empty supermarket shelves and warnings that the meat supply is in danger.

“We need to find a way to keep food moving through to supermarkets and keep food on shelves for Australians,” Rogers said.

“We don’t want to get to a stage where we’re destroying food in a farm, at a paddock, because we can’t get it to the supermarket and Australians go to the supermarket and there’s not food on shelves.”

Rogers said highly perishable vegetables including leafy greens and soft fruits were most in danger of disappearing from shops.

“Anything that’s highly perishable is going to be the most vulnerable to disruption. So that’s why it’s important for us to make sure that the transport and logistics is operating and functioning because it takes pressure off the growing.”

Small business and unions have repeatedly called for rapid antigen tests to be made free for small and medium-sized companies – something Rogers said was “on the table” but stopped short of endorsing.

“My understanding from where we’re standing right now, is that: are there any tests available? I think that’s the first hurdle,” he said.

“In an ideal world, yes, government would provide RAT tests free of charge to supply chain but that’s a lot of people, a lot of tests, a lot of different places.”

Innes Willox, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, also said people should be allowed to return to work immediately after getting a negative Covid test.

“Businesses will face significant costs to provide rapid tests for their staff once suppy ramps up over the coming months,” he said.

“Consideration needs to be given on how to reduce or reimburse these costs for businesses trying to keep their operations going.”

Earlier this week, the prime minister acknowledged staff shortages caused by Covid isolation rules were taking a toll and said the federal government was considering how to address the problem.

The prime minister has asked the attorney general, Michaelia Cash, to meet with state governments to discuss potential changes to workplace health and safety laws.

A spokesman for Cash said on Thursday that the Morrison government “will work with state and territory governments to provide clarity to employers on rapid antigen testing requirements under WHS [work health and safety] laws”.

“The attorney general is reaching out to WHS ministers to progress this work.”