Flooded Brisbane Markets to start trade again on Wednesday morning

Advanced preparations are underway that may see the return of trade from as early as tomorrow morning.

The Brisbane Markets site was inundated by flood waters which reached a peak on site of about 8m on Monday morning.

This is about 1m lower than the 2011 flood peak.

But, with waters now receding, the recovery process has begun with Brisbane Markets Limited (BML) chair Anthony Kelly cautiously optimistic the site will be ready to begin receiving deliveries later tonight.

"The good news is that the impact to the Central Trading Area has been relatively minor," Mr Kelly said.

"We learned a lot from 2011. We have flood mitigation strategies and planning in place to allow BML to get the site back up and running as soon as possible."

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He paid tribute to the endurance of those in the sector.

"The resilience of the fresh produce industry and in particular the wholesalers here in the markets is inspiring," he said.

"We will move mountains to get fruit and veg back on local fruit and veg shop shelves. Our goal is to make that happen, from tomorrow."

The markets will be banking on a break in the weather to help it get semi-operational, however the Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a stormy and soggy second half of the week.

"Severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging winds and locally heavy rainfall are likely around south-east Queensland from Wednesday, persisting into the weekend," the BOM said.

"This could lead to localised rises in creeks and streams. Major flood warnings are in place across Queensland, including the Lower Brisbane and Bremer Rivers, Warrill Creek, Logan and Albert Rivers, Mary River, Condamine and Balonne Rivers and Moonie River."

Getting produce in and out of the central markets may also prove a problem with the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Road's Qld Traffic website showing hundreds of road closures within the state's south east.

BML's Mr Kelly warned that missing links in the fresh produce supply would have knock-on effects for other industries and consumers.

"Brisbane Markets is a major economic hub and every moment we are not trading has flow on effects to the state's economy including retail, logistics and growing regions," he said.

"We are motivated and well resourced to achieve this goal and to continue to reinstate other warehouses and infrastructure on site as the water recedes."

While the mango industry is nearly complete, the Australian Mango Industry Association reported delays in sending fruit to market and overall dispatch timeframes.

"Although the season is almost finished, we are aware that there may be some growers in south east Queensland and northern NSW that may have been subject to potential flooding," it said.

A weekly e-mail newsletter from Growcom earlier today said there was significant damage to many parts of south east Queensland.

"Our thoughts will especially be with those growers in these regions who will likely lose the lot, with their entire properties inundated," it said.

"As the rains ease and floodwaters recede, the true extent of damage from this natural disaster will become evident.

Growcom and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) are collecting damage estimates, with an online impact assessment tool established by DAF.

The aim is to ensure a more coordinated process for collecting the impact data required to determine levels of activation of recovery support for primary producers and their communities.

Access the survey HERE.

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