The tonnage of Australia’s Halloween pumpkin obsession revealed
Trick-or-treating robbers gave one family a Halloween nightmare. Photo: Getty
It’s official, Australians are going mad for Halloween. What was once considered an American holiday now eats away millions of our dollars on cavity-causing lollies and pumpkins destined to rot.
It’s estimated that more than six million Australians will celebrate Halloween this year, and demand for pumpkins is rocketing.
Price comparison website finder.com.au put a dollar figure on this demand, estimating that more than $1.5 million will be spent on pumpkins.
“More than 500,000 kilograms of largely inedible pumpkins will be sold across Australia as more Aussies get into the spooky celebrations,” the comparison website revealed.
Both the big two supermarket chains confirmed to The New Daily that demand for Halloween pumpkins had shot up over the past few years.
A Woolworths spokesperson said the retailer expected to sell more than 150 tonnes across Australia, 25 per cent more than they sold last year.
A spokesperson from Coles told a similar story.
“As more Australians embrace Halloween celebrations, we have seen the demand for carving pumpkins triple in the last six years,” the spokesperson said.
Last year Coles revealed it expected to sell 270 tonnes in the lead-up to Halloween, although a spokesperson declined to name a figure to The New Daily this year.
A spokesperson for Aus Veg, an industry body representing vegetable and potato growers, said although Halloween was the most visible time of the year for pumpkins, most Aussies get their orange fruit fix in the winter months.
But they said some pumpkin farmers had cottoned on to the growing market.
“Some growers have entered the niche market and have benefited from the diversity that the new varieties have provided their business.”
Sugar, booze and fancy dress
Bessie Hassan, money expert at finder.com.au, said Halloween was becoming more mainstream in Australia.
“Australians are increasingly getting into Halloween festivities and spending up on everything from costumes to candy,” she said.
A Woolworths spokesperson told The New Daily the business expected Aussies to snap up 4.5 million packets of lollies, or 820,000 kilograms of chocolate in the two weeks leading up to Halloween.
That’s one kilogram of chocolate for every seven Aussies doing Halloween from Woolies alone.
But it’s not just kids getting in on engaging in unhealthy activities for one night in October. Many older Australians are all about the Halloween dress-up party, with many shops selling costumes of various lengths to suit.
A 2012 American study by Alcohol Monitoring Systems noted alcohol consumption increases 20.4 per cent on a weekday Halloween, and nearly 25 per cent the weekend prior, compared to drinking the rest of the year.