Cabbages soon only for kings

Record low temperatures have sent vegetable prices through the roof - and they could stay that way.

The harsh start to winter is laying waste to vegetable production throughout the country, damaging many June crops which otherwise would have been destined for the country's dinner tables.

Instead, those traditional winter crops have either been destroyed or have stopped growing because of persistent rainfall and below-zero temperatures in some parts of the country.

Some vegetables are more than four times the prices they were a year ago. And vegetable wholesalers Turners and Growers is warning that the high prices could be here to stay if the cold snap lasts much longer.

The worst-hit vegetables have been winter favourites broccoli and cauliflower, which are now up to five times last year's price.

A head of broccoli costs around $4 in most supermarkets, while cauliflower is selling for close to $5. Cabbages at $3.99 each, lettuces at $4.49, tomatoes at $8.65 a kilogram and silverbeet at $2.77 have also not been spared from the recent price rises. Other vegetables, such as carrots, have also also gone up in price as a result of the cold snap, but fortunately for shoppers not to the same degree.

The chief executive of industry marketing association Horticulture New Zealand, Peter Silcock, said the chilly conditions meant most growers couldn't get outside to plant or harvest crops, which had further lowered supply levels. Many crops were just waiting in the ground, unable to grow and unreachable by farmers.

"Supply of a whole range of vegetables is very low due to the bad weather we have had right across the country. Not just the snow and frost in the south, but there has also been a lot of rain and hail in the north. No one is having an easy time," Mr Silcock said.

Normally when New Zealand produce is hit by bad weather, produce is imported from Queensland, but March's category five hurricane Larry, which devastated crops and levelled some Australian towns, put paid to that.

The high prices have come as a shock to shoppers after years of good climatic conditions and abundant supply creating consistently low prices for fruit and vegetables.

"Consumers have had a very good couple of years with cheap vegetables and had good value for money ... that's why these prices are a bit of a shock," Mr Silcock said.

He said the situation had been difficult for growers, despite some perceptions that they were enjoying the high prices.

"Those growers that do have some produce are doing okay, but many don't have anything to sell."

But he stressed that while prices seemed high, vegetables were still good value. "Five dollars for a head of lettuce is still good value - that's two-and-a-half cappuccinos."