Record strength El Niño could mean bigger supermarket bills for Australians, experts warn

Predicted hot and dry weather in growing areas in eastern Australia identified as ‘one of the key issues’ that will affect food prices over next 12 months

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The most severe El Niño weather event on record threatens to push food prices higher this year, experts say, piling pressure on households already struggling with the post-pandemic spike in grocery bills and complicating the Reserve Bank’s efforts to bring inflation back under control.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast El Niño will peak in late spring or summer and “reach levels above the warmest observed since reliable records began in 1950”.