Bringing a fruit salad to Christmas lunch may be more difficult this year, as growers face difficulties producing the sweet fruit Aussies are used to enjoying, especially over the holiday season.
Stonefruit growers need support more than ever, as they work through one of the most challenging seasons to deliver the nation with high quality fruit.
According to Summerfruit Australia CEO, Trevor Ranford, widespread floods are threatening the supply of peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots, and growers are urging Australians to understand the current challenges they are experiencing growing fruit.
"We are seeing less early summerfruit this year due to the cooler weather and rain and flood impacts. But despite the difficult start, many amazing growers are battling challenges to deliver some great quality Aussie summer fruits that will start to increase in volume as weather improves," said Mr Ranford.
Summerfruit Australia is working closely with growers and wants Australians to know they are doing their best to supply sweet tasting stone fruit.
Resilient growers are still working to produce the best quality fruit they can. However, intense rainfall, cold weather, and a lack of sunshine mean growers across the nation aren't operating with ideal growing conditions, with dry, warm summers ideal for growing stonefruit. Issues such as labour shortages, costs and availability of inputs like chemicals and transport are also adding to daily burdens.
"We are hopeful that when summer has set in, the sun will shine, and growers will go back to working in better production conditions, enabling them to continue to provide Australians with sweet, high-quality fruit," added Mr Ranford.
Areas heavily impacted from extreme weather conditions include the growing regions of NSW (Orange), Victoria (Shepparton, Swan Hill, Cobram and Mildura) and South Australia (Renmark). While there have been heavy rains across Queensland, the industry reports that stonefruit crops have had minimal impact from the wet weather and earlier flooding with flavour still very good and comfortably meeting supermarket specifications.
"It's a tough season for growers, and it would be great to see Aussies show their compassion and understanding if they see less stone fruit on shelves. Like our farmers, we want people to remain optimistic and to know that the situation will improve as rainfall across the nation decreases."
"For most growers this has been the worst growing conditions in recent memory, but as summer is fast approaching and an increase in sunshine and temperature comes, I invite consumers to choose their favourite fresh new season summer fruits and enjoy the experience," added Adrian Conti, Deputy Chair, Summerfruit Australia Ltd and stonefruit grower from Cobram, Victoria.
Despite these challenges, consumers are asked to be patient, as some fantastic quality fruit is expected to hit shelves over the next few weeks, and increasing as we move towards peak production in January.
The industry is looking forward to improved weather conditions, so growers can emerge as quality suppliers to some of Australia's biggest and smallest retailers.
