Too much rain means Australian berry lovers might see prices go up. The region surrounding the NSW mid-north coast town of Coffs Harbour delivers the vast majority of Australia's summer blueberry production, but conditions have been less than ideal lately. Blueberry farms across the region reported a 60 to 70 per cent reduction in crops in 2021.
Over the past two years, La Nina conditions brought above-average rainfall to the eastern states of Australia, leading to major flooding in areas including northern NSW and southeast Queensland. The persistent rains resulted in fungal diseases that stripped leaves from many plants, preventing them producing berries and costing him millions of dollars.
A La Nina event occurs when strong winds from the Pacific Ocean, strengthened by cooler waters off South America, blow warm water towards northern Australia, evaporating to form rain clouds. Last month, the Bureau of Meteorology declared a third consecutive La Nina would impact northern and eastern Australia.
Source: bluemountainsgazette.com.au