Honey Gold mangoes have returned to supermarket shelves across Australia as Piñata Farms transitions harvesting in the Northern Territory from its Darwin operation to its main farm in Katherine.
According to Piñata Farms managing director Gavin Scurr, the 145 ha Katherine orchard is expected to deliver a slightly higher yield than last season, as all trees are now in full production. Overall production for the 2025–2026 season is expected to be in line with the previous three years. This includes fruit grown by around 25 third-party producers located across the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.
Harvesting at Katherine began on Monday, following four weeks of harvesting at Piñata Farms' 70 ha Darwin farm. Fruit from the Darwin region has been available in South Australia since late October.
"While volume from Darwin was not as high as initially hoped, our focus on quality has paid off, and it was probably the best we've achieved since the first harvest in 2019," Gavin says.
"We're attributing the improvement to successful trials involving adaptations to our growing practices," he says.
"We'll look at increasing the scope of these trials leading up to next season."
Third-party producer Razor Rock Farm, located in Katherine, also commenced harvesting at the same time as Piñata Farms' Katherine operation.
After the Northern Territory harvest concludes, production will move east. The Bowen region in Queensland is expected to be the first Queensland growing area to begin harvesting Honey Gold mangoes, starting around late November and continuing into early December.
"The Queensland crop is patchy in some areas – possibly due to a prolonged winter which included unseasonal warm spells," Gavin explains.
"The broader industry is experiencing the same patchiness with other varieties such as Kensington Pride, R2E2, and Calypso," he says.
"We're expecting to end up with a reasonable crop, similar to the past three years.
"Quality will be as great as always, as the Honey Gold is a consistent performer."
Honey Gold mangoes are characterised by a long storage window and are marketed nationally through major supermarket chains. Availability is expected to continue until late February or early March, depending on seasonal conditions and harvest progression.
Source: Benalla Ensign
