The national papaya crop, which peaks between now and November, will yield the ‘heaviest spring crop on record,’ according to grower Gerard Kath. “I’m pretty confident this year we will exceed 1.4 million cartons for the year. Yearly figures are normally around 1.35 million,” he says. “There are some huge crops out there starting to come online as of this week, and quantities are up significantly across the board.”
Papaya prices become most reasonable during these months, between $1.50 and $3 per kilo, which is good for the grower and consumer, Mr Kath says. “Yellow papaya can sell from anywhere between $3 and $4 per kilo. During the spring a lot of the temperate fruits like citrus have generally finished, so papaya enjoys a slightly better shelf space. By December you’ve got a large array of short season summer fruits like stonefruit, cherries, lychees and mangoes fighting for similar consumer dollars.”
On average production increases about 8 percent each year for Australian papaya growers, and the industry has proved ‘buoyant’ attracting expansion of existing plantings, and newcomers, Mr Kath adds.
Two successive years of favourable weather conditions have meant minimal tree loss, and successful harvest for growers of the tropical fruit, becoming more popular for its health benefits and as a digestive aid. “Neither this year nor last year have the winters been harsh, nor has there been a tropical ‘wet season’ to speak of,” says Mr Kath. “Papaya is a tropical tree but it’s very sensitive to too much water. The biggest tree losses occur as a result of too much water.”
The top half of Australia had a much less severe winter than the southern states too, Mr Kath says, so there were no adverse cold weather events to disturb the trees.
Exports for papaya have been quite limited, mainly a few going to New Zealand during their shoulder season, when supply is not as plentiful from the Cook Islands or the Philippines, according to Mr Kath. Australian papaya must be sent by air freight, which adds too much to the cost to create a significant market in Asia or elsewhere, he says. “The amount we send to New Zealand, and consumption demand there in general, is nowhere near that of Queensland or even Sydney. We have worked out that we get more bang for our buck in the domestic market, margins are quite fine on exports at the moment.”
One strategy to encourage consumption is to enlist celebrity chefs to experiment more with papaya in different dishes, and show consumers the various uses for papaya in cooking, Mr Kath says.
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Gerard Kath