Consumers will have to buy their Australia cherries earlier than usual this Christmas, as supply is expected to be short as growers deal with cooler, wetter conditions.
A new report from Rabobank Australia found consecutive La Niña weather events could increase the likelihood of splitting in this year's cherry crop. Associate analyst Pia Piggott said higher rainfall could lead to reduced local availability of the sweet red fruit.
"Last year, we saw that there was lots of November rain in major growing regions [leading to a] decrease in total production of around 15 per cent and a decrease in exports of around 20 per cent," she said. "When there's the unseasonal rain, we have less of the quality cherries that we're able to export and that definitely has an effect on farmers and their margins."
As widespread flooding could be another factor in increasing the price of fresh produce in general, Ms Piggo stated that cherries could also be more expensive this year. "We do expect that, because the supply is tight and producers' input costs have been rising, including additional costs because of the rain, we might see elevated prices in the retail space."
Source: ABC.net