Back in October last year, before harvest started, Marianne Demaio at Riverbend Orchard said they were expecting a 10–14 day delay, and that turned out to be accurate as most varieties were around 14 days late, and a few even 16 days.
© Riverbend Orchard
"We had a bit of a clash in the first two weeks of December, but from mid-December onward, it settled back into the 8/9 day delay, including into January. Growing conditions have been excellent. It has been dry with no rain, which is perfect for stone fruit.
According to Marianne, the crop overall has been very solid. "Early on, brix was a challenge due to the cold weather right through October to mid-November. It picked up toward mid-November, and January fruit has recorded some of the best brix we've seen, exceptional levels in white nectarines, white peaches, and yellow nectarines. With brix up to 19, with averages of 15."
© Riverbend Orchard
"Colour has been excellent throughout, especially in January. Early sizing (October–mid-November) tended toward medium to medium-large, not small, just not the larger sizes we usually see. From January onwards, we've had some of the largest fruit we've seen in many years. January volumes have been huge, around 60% more than previous years, with outstanding size across the board."
Differences in stone fruit categories
"We were targeting around a 90% crop, but we've actually exceeded that thanks to excellent sizing, which pushed overall tonnage higher than expected. Nectarine and peach crops were around 100% due to sizes, but peach volumes slightly outdid nectarine volumes."
Export markets
"Markets started the season strong. Export was a little quiet early on, but improved significantly around Christmas and has stayed strong since. Prices haven't matched previous years, but volumes have moved extremely well, which has been important given the January surge in production. Chinese New Year is still a couple of weeks away. We currently have multiple containers on the water, about 16,000 units, which were all pre-priced and prepaid before leaving the shed. They'll be arriving in the next few days. As a rule, I don't send to China unless I'm paid at least 80% upfront."
© Riverbend Orchard
Domestic markets
"January has been exceptional, one of the best in many years. Both Aldi and Woolworths have been extremely strong this year particular for January, traditionally it's a harder month to move volume into chains as everyone is still in holiday mode, but this year was phenomenal, and prices have been very consistent with both Woolworths and Aldi. The only difficult period was two weeks in December, when market-floor agents were extremely tough. If you were relying solely on the market floor, it would be very difficult; you need a balanced mix of markets.
"Overall, apart from those tough two weeks in December, the season has been very strong, with an exceptional January."
For more information:
Marianne De Maio
Riverbend Orchard
[email protected]
www.riverbendorchard.com.au/
