Australia: Tyranny of distance fuels rising grocery prices

REMOTE towns in NSW – not only Aboriginal communities – are struggling with grocery prices pushed higher by rising freight costs.

In Tibooburra they pay $4.75 for two litres of milk, which Sydneysiders can buy at a supermarket for $2.59.


“The freight prices we have to pay to get the bare necessities up is unbelievable,” said Cindy McGeorge, who owns Corner Country Store in Tibooburra, in north-western NSW.

At White Cliffs, they pay $4 for a 1.25-litre bottle of Coca-Cola, which can be bought in Sydney for $2.11. Margaret Aziz, the manager of White Cliffs General Store, said the shop had recently stopped selling snow peas because they had hit $16.80 a packet – which contains 10 to 20 snow peas.

“Personally, I can’t see things getting any better.”

Sydney Morning Herald