Mango-lovers are being warned they will be paying top dollar for the fruit until Christmas, because of a season northern growers are describing as a ‘disaster’.
Mango picking is underway across the Top End, but growers are reporting their crops are down 70 to 90 per cent.
The Kununurra-based plantation run by the company Kimberley Produce normally has 40 fruit-pickers working at this time of year, but currently has only six people getting the fruit ready for market.
Owner Stewart Dobson says it is frustrating situation.
“The mango season is a disaster,” he said.
“It seems from the information that I’m getting that the crop is down 70 percent in the Northern Territory and in the Ord,” he said.
“Why? Don’t quite know why. There was reasonable flowering but fruit didn’t set, and the fruit that did set didn’t hold on.”
He says the poor crop will have a big impact on local businesses.
“It’s easy to say, we won’t have any income from mangoes. Any income we’d budgeted for from mangoes won’t exist, because it’s such a poor crop,” he said.
“We’re fairly depressed, but hope it might get better.”
High price in Perth
The mango shortage has led to increased prices in Perth shops.
Inci Humberstone monitors market prices for the Chamber of Fruit and Vegetable Industries.
She says mangoes will cost a lot more this Christmas than they did last year.
“They started off, when the first lot came down last month, about $100 to $120 a tray,” she said.
“That’s now come down to about $70 a tray, however prices are definitely going to stay higher this year than they were last year.”
There is concern the mango shortage could increase dependence on imported fruit.
In September, 4.5 tonne of mangoes was shipped to the Perth market from Pakistan.
The Australian Mango Association said at the time, it was the first time foreign mangoes had been imported during the domestic growing season.
Grower Stewart Dobson says it is a concern.
“It’s already happening, mangoes are already coming in from Pakistan and India are arguing at the moment about the conditions on them importing into Australia,” he said.
Source: ABC Australia