"Australian Apricot season has been, crop-wise, disastrous"
The chair of the South Australian Dried Tree Fruits Association, Kris Werner, discussed the effects the weather had on the crops saying it was "Probably the worst [season] I've had as long as I've been in the industry. It just seems to want to rain every week," he said.
"At this point it's probably a 50 per cent loss of income. Anyone who's doing dried fruit for instance is certainly suffering," he said.
The Riverland experienced around 299 millimetres of rain last year which was well above average and the weather is predicted to remain wet at least until harvest.
Renmark fruit grower Phillip Simms has spent more than 50 years in the dried apricot industry and said although fruit sizes had been excellent, however he had never experienced a season so bad. With the season's falling profits some farmers are even having to turn away workers, as they cannot afford them.
"That's sad in a way because it's the sort of job where a lot of local children, school age, have been able to come and apricot cut, but it's not there this year."
"Apricot season has been, crop-wise, disastrous," he said.
source: abc.net.au
