Tricky time for lunchboxes: banana shortage hits supermarket shelves after cool weather in Queensland

Dearth of bananas coincides with poor apple harvest and lack of summer stone fruit

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A shortage of Australia's most popular fruit, bananas, has hit supermarket shelves at a tricky time for lunchboxes, right as apple season winds down after tough growing conditions and summer stone fruit is yet to arrive en masse.

Cool weather in key Queensland growing regions has severely slowed banana production, leaving major supermarkets Coles, Woolworths and Aldi with sparse displays or very green stock.