President of the NT Mango Industry Association, Leo Skliros, said a number of mango farms, which were busy harvesting, had lost trees to fire during a horror few days in Darwin’s rural area.
“We’ve heard of one farm that’s lost one-third of their property, so probably around 2,000 [mango trees] burnt,” he said.
“Another property at Berry Springs lost up to 500 trees from a fire the day before and there are quite a few other small losses [of trees] at Lambells Lagoon.”
At the time of publication Bushfires NT said another fire had flared up near the Arnhem Highway and was burning through a mango plantation.
Mr Skliros, who runs a mango farm at Berry Springs, said gusty winds had caused a lot of fruit to fall off the trees.
“I’d say we’ve lost 10 per cent of our production over the weekend because of the wind gusts,” he said.
“Other properties around here fared better, but others have done worse.
It is a disastrous outcome for the NT mango industry which, at one stage, was on track to produce one of its largest ever crops.
Mr Skliros said a run of cooler overnight temperatures had also delayed the harvest and it was now proving to be a very challenging season.
“It’s not good news but we’ll keep going and hope for the best,” he said.
The crop forecast for the Northern Territory will be revised down in the coming days once more data is collected.
One packing shed manager has told the Country Hour that the NT may now end up producing 20 to 30 per cent less fruit than last year.
Source: Matt Brann, ABC News