Andrew Pergoliti from Harvey Citrus, says with last year being such a strong year for production, numbers were always expected to be lower in 2018 – which provided the perfect opportunity to prepare for the future.
"Production has been good over most varieties, we’ve focused a lot on pruning over the last couple of seasons trying to improve yields and packouts," he said. "Last season was our heaviest crop ever so we are a little down on volume this year. Knowing that we would be down this year and with a lot of young trees coming into production we upgraded our packing line. We decided to go with Compac Sorting and put a Spectrim SLS in."
Based in Harvey, south of Perth, the company grows a few varieties of citrus including, Imperial, Afourer and Mystique Mandarins, Chislett Late Navel, Midknight Valencia’s, Red Grapefruit, Limes and Seedless Lemons.
"We have a good spread over all varieties at the moment but as production increases Imperial and Afourer Mandarins will take up a fair amount of production," Mr Pergoliti said.
The south-west region has a temperate Mediterranean climate, suitable soils and irrigation, making it the perfect location for growing these fruits. The winter months are the peak time for Australian citrus, which is popular among consumers a good source of folic acid and fibre. While Harvey Citrus does not export, Mr Pergoliti is aware of Australia's reputation overseas.
"I’d say strong on both fronts (domestic sales and exports), the quality of Aussie Citrus is one of the main drivers I believe," he said. "But currently we are just domestic with Coles being our main customer, taking all varieties."
That partnership between the supermarket giant and the family-owned business has spanned more than 32 years, and in 2015 received funding to increase the supply window across the state.
"We received a Coles Nurture Fund Grant just under 3 years ago, and 2018 has seen the first fruit from this project supplied to Coles stores in Western Australia," Mr Pergoliti said.
For more information
Andrew PergolitiHarvey Citrus
Phone: +61 8 9729 3861