Farm leaders have warned Australia’s fuel insecurity could trigger a nationwide freeze in food deliveries to supermarkets and global consumers within days in the event of an international emergency.

The warning comes as the state’s peak farm body launches a call for a new national program to monitor stocks of key agricultural inputs such as fuel to ensure food security amid continuing international trade turmoil.

With Australia carrying just 22 days of diesel reserves onshore, NSW Farmers Acting CEO Mike Guerin said a serious program to monitor fuel stocks was nothing short of critical.

“Our fuel insecurity is the leak in the tank that could drain our nation of vital food supplies and export markets in just days,” Mr Guerin said.

“One iceberg sank the Titanic, but a thousand things could stop our oil tankers from reaching Australian shores.

“And no fuel means no farm machinery, no tractors, no trucks – and that means no food on shelves, no food in shops, and no food leaving our shores.”

Mapping of the supply chains that provide fuel and other inputs to the nation must be included within any new program to monitor stocks of these supplies, Mr Guerin said, alongside an early warning system to alert the nation to shortages before it was too late.

“Farmers deserve to know when a shortage of fuel, fertiliser or another key input is imminent, so they can prepare accordingly,” Mr Guerin said.

“The program should also be working actively to prevent shortages of these inputs, and have plans in place to relieve shortages, not if, but when, they occur.

“This isn’t about triggering panic buying but about preventing a national standstill in food supplies – and with 27 million hungry mouths to feed just in Australia, we just can’t keep risking it until the system fails.”

Source: NSW Farmers