The Great Coconut Crisis: More Than Just Price Gouging
The shopping receipt sitting on my kitchen bench tells a story that’s becoming all too familiar. Desiccated coconut, that humble baking staple, has jumped from $2.70 to $4.00 at Coles - a staggering 48% increase. Looking at the prices across our major supermarkets, it’s the same story: Aldi at $3.90, Woolworths matching Coles at $4.00.
This might seem like another example of supermarket price gouging, but digging deeper reveals a more complex story. The Philippines, a major coconut producer, was hit by six devastating typhoons in just 30 days last year. These natural disasters didn’t just destroy crops; they took hundreds of lives and devastated communities. It’s a stark reminder that behind every price increase, there’s often a human story we don’t see on the supermarket shelf.
The timing couldn’t be worse for home bakers. With ANZAC Day approaching in a few months, the thought of potentially skipping the traditional coconut-laden ANZAC biscuits due to cost feels particularly un-Australian. Sure, we could substitute ingredients, but it’s not just about the biscuits - it’s about what these price hikes represent.
Someone online joked about monkeys unionizing at coconut farms, referencing a 2021 controversy about monkey labour in coconut farming. While the comment was meant to be humorous, it highlights the ethical considerations in our food supply chains that we often overlook.
The pattern extends beyond coconut products. Coffee prices have been climbing, cocoa is getting more expensive, and these aren’t isolated incidents. They’re symptoms of a larger issue: climate change’s impact on agriculture in tropical regions. When someone mentioned this might be “the curse of the ‘co’ foods,” they were inadvertently pointing to a pattern - many of these products come from regions most vulnerable to climate disruption.
The supermarket giants’ pricing strategies don’t help either. They’ll likely drop prices temporarily to a “special” that’s still higher than what we paid a few months ago, creating an illusion of savings while maintaining higher baseline prices. It’s a practice that’s becoming increasingly transparent to savvy shoppers.
Looking at my recipe collection, many family favourites might need adjusting. The lamingtons I’ve been making for my daughter’s school events might become an occasional treat rather than a regular feature. But perhaps this forced adaptation isn’t entirely negative. Maybe it’s pushing us to think more about seasonal, local ingredients and questioning our dependence on imported products.
These price hikes are more than just numbers on a receipt - they’re a wake-up call about the fragility of our global food supply chains and the real impacts of climate change on our daily lives. While it’s easy to point fingers at supermarket profits, the solution requires addressing multiple complex issues: supporting sustainable farming practices, improving supply chain resilience, and yes, holding large corporations accountable for their pricing practices.
For now, I’ll be keeping an eye on those specials and maybe stocking up when prices dip. But more importantly, I’ll be thinking about how these small changes in our shopping baskets reflect much bigger changes in our world.