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Just when you thought your $12 avocado toast was safe, Melbourne’s wholesale produce market is having a full-blown rent tantrum—and you’re about to pay for it. Growers and suppliers are locked in a good old-fashioned "he said, he gouged" fight with landlords at the Melbourne Market, and if it doesn’t get sorted, your weekly grocery bill is about to take a personal interest in your credit score.

At the heart of the drama is a proposed rent hike that traders say will jack up the cost of every apple, lettuce, and slightly suspicious capsicum passing through the market. It’s a classic Aussie showdown: the suits want more money, the farmers just want to survive without selling a kidney, and the shoppers, as always, are stuck in the middle wondering why a tomato now costs the same as a small car.

Contextually, food prices have already been on a slow, miserable climb thanks to floods, inflation, and general 21st-century doom. Now a local rent dispute threatens to make it even worse, because why not? It's like playing Monopoly with real consequences, except instead of a plastic hotel, you lose your weekly salad budget.

Latest update? Talks are still ongoing, but unless someone blinks soon, Melbourne’s cafes may soon be serving toast and tap water "salads" while pretending it’s artisanal. Stay tuned—and maybe stock up on cucumbers while you still can. Sources: The Guardian (27 April 2025), The Age (27 April 2025), 9News (27 April 2025)