AU: Navels running a month late

The Australian citrus season is well underway, Richard Byllaardt, Managing Director at Seven Fields said that they have now completed their lemon harvest in the Northern Territory and Queensland. The southern lemons will commence in around August.

"We have started our navel orange harvest now, which is running a month behind normal years. We are also picking Imperial mandarins for the domestic market," he continues.

Seven Fields generally doesn't export many lemons, due to the good demand domestically. Lemons are currently selling at $0.80 each.

Seven Fields mainly export navel oranges and mandarins to Japan, USA and China, plus a host of other countries including the UK & EU.

This year the warmer than average autumn has delayed fruit colour in the navels – and Richard said they are about one month behind their normal export program

Australia faces competition from South Africa and South America, Richard says he concentrates on a high quality to ensure his customers can ask a premium for the produce.

"All domestic and export markets are asking for more fruit from us this season," explains Richard. "Which is a good sign that our philosophy of producing high quality citrus is working. The tough part for us will be to spread our crop out across all markets, to keep all of our customers happy."

For more information:
Richard Byllaardt
Seven Fields
Richard.Byllaardt@sevenfields.com.au
Sevenfields.com.au