Updated Jun 1, 2026 – 12.03pm, first published at 12.01pmFarmers have drastically scaled back their wheat crops this year in a trend that threatens to worsen the country’s cost-of-living crisis after soaring fuel and fertiliser prices from the Iran war and dry weather prompts growers to rethink the food staple.The three-month conflict in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already triggered a massive shake-up in global agriculture and sent commodity markets into a spin. Rabobank is now forecasting oil prices could spike to an average of $US120 a barrel in the coming months up from about $US70 before the conflict.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Farmers abandon wheat amid energy crisis, prompting cost-of-living warning
Skyrocketing diesel and fertiliser costs encourage a domestic retreat from wheat as local growers pivot to barley and canola to try and protect profitability.
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