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Fresh food prices are tipped to skyrocket over the next couple of months as we feel the full effects of cyclone Yasi and the Queensland floods. You’ll be paying more for favourite fruit and veg like bananas, mangoes, pineapples, capsicums, broccoli and sweet potatoes.

Westpac predicts fruit prices will leap 60 per cent this quarter and vegetable prices will rise 10 per cent. It’s going to be a tough couple of months if you have banana addicts in the house. Westpac is tipping wholesale banana prices will surge a whopping 300 per cent this quarter after Yasi virtually wiped out our national supply. Before the cyclone struck bananas were going for $3 a kilo. Some experts are saying they may reach the $17 a kilo we saw after Cyclone Larry in 2006.

It’s going to be tough to stick to the weekly food budget the next couple of months, especially if you have a mob of hungry fruit eating kids. You need to shop smart and change your eating habits if you want to control your grocery bill.