AU: Ord farmers switching back to bananas
Over a decade ago, farmers in the North were ripping out their banana trees and replacing them with grapefruit and mangoes, but this year they're returning to bananas to diversify.
Ord business Kimberley Produce was once WA's largest banana grower until it turned its back on the fruit in 2002, after leasing the land out for mangoes. This year, Kimberley Produce partner Lachlan Dobson says the company is ripping out 12 hectares of grapefruit trees and replacing them with bananas. "We are diversifying our income, so we have got to go back to bananas. We know we can grow them and we are pretty good at it."
Once the region had 32 banana growers, but now it has been reduced to three. The WA Department of Agriculture's Peter Johnson says he isn't surprised to see farmers returning to bananas. "I doubt we will see it back to the level of 32 growers, but it wouldn't surprise me if see one or two more people have a go at it."
Mr Johnson, however, says the industry, despite having stabilised and decentralised of late, can be volatile. "It is a challenging crop to grow in this environment. It really is one of those things that is going to be a decision that will come down to what the market is doing."
Source: abc.net.au
