The Palmerston Highway connects the Atherton Tablelands to the south, but the road received significant damage due to flooding caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper. Now, with this major road out of the area closed, some Far North Queensland farmers fear they will have to leave fruit on trees if they are unable to absorb increased freight costs.

Far North Queensland Growers president Joe Moro: "There's a lot of frustration among farmers. They now have to pay $30 a pallet extra, which is about $1,000 per B-double [truck] for those farmers on the Tablelands and Lakeland area. It's a very significant freight cost increase."

Moro said farmers could not pass the cost on, so they would have to absorb it. Normally more than 300 trucks travel the Palmerston Highway every day. Due to the damage, freight trucks were taking a longer route.

"It's a significant number of vehicles, and those vehicles are still moving to the inland roads," Mr Moro said. "It's a big cost of the transport industry, and the farmers are paying for it."

Source - https://www.freshplaza.com