AU: Mango bumper crop in Gympie
January is the traditional time to pick mangoes throughout Gympie and surrounding areas, and the conditions have been better than previous years. Most back yard trees are heavy with the popular fruit.
Although Queensland Rural Supplies owner/operator and mango producer Darryl Wilcox no longer sells his mangoes to a commercial market, he said producers should do well.
He said it has not been too cold or too wet, so growers have picked high volumes of good quality fruit.
Mango harvesting and production begins in the Northern Territory and Western Australia in September.
This is followed by Queensland's dry tropical regions in mid-November, Mareeba and Dimbulah in early December, and Central Queensland in late December. South-east Queensland and Northern New South Wales begin picking in early January.
Andrew Mitchell, of Mitchell's Fruit and Veg Shop, said there was an over- supply of fruit since harvesting began in the Northern Territory. He also said it had not all been smooth sailing, with fluctuations in prices when there was a shortened supply between the NT harvest and North Queensland harvest.
However, for the past few weeks there has been a steady supply of mangoes and prices have not fluctuated much.
Local growers were selling trays privately for around $16 and Mitchell's Fruit and Veg for $24.
However, Mr Mitchell said prices would creep up in the next few weeks as supplies slow between picking.
Source: gympietimes.com.au
