Consumers in New South Wales can expect to see a rise in the cost of stone fruits following a poor harvest brought on by record rainfall in late 2022. The flood-affected Central West and Riverina are two of the largest regions in the state for growing summer fruits such as peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots.
Orchard owners claim that conditions have been challenging. Due to the heavy rainfall, bees were not able to get out, so pollination was quite poor. Also, the conditions contributed to the spread of diseases in apples and stone fruits.
While growers across the south-east states of NSW and Victoria have seen reduced yields, producers in Queensland are looking at a bumper stone fruit crop. The executive officer of Summer Fruit Australia Trevor Ranford said consumers could expect to see more fruit from the Sunshine State in supermarkets.
Source: abc.net.au