With this year ’ s harvest at about the halfway point , it ’ s a mixed bag of results , with the unpredictable spring climate conditions experienced in Australia in the last quarter of 2016 .
Summerfruit Chairman ' s Report
We ’ ve had ‘ interesting ’ weather of late
With this year ’ s harvest at about the halfway point , it ’ s a mixed bag of results , with the unpredictable spring climate conditions experienced in Australia in the last quarter of 2016 .
ANDREW FINLAY is Chairman of Summerfruit Australia Ltd . P : 07 4685 6171 F : 07 4685 6171 E : pikescreek @ bigpond . com Postal address : Pikes Creek Homestead , MS 312 Stanthorpe , QLD
Almost every Summerfruit production region in Eastern Australia has run at least one week – and in places up to two weeks – later than what would be considered normal . The much cooler than average September and October resulted in many pre- Christmas varieties struggling to achieve acceptable size and , in many cases , brix levels that were well below expectations .
Smaller sizes have resulted in significantly lighter yields and less returns . However , in stark contrast to this , I recently saw photos of the most magnificent apricots you could ever hope to see and a plum crop that every grower would be delighted to call their own on a farm at Swan Hill . Understanding the ways in which weather impacts on agriculture and how to counteract the effects still requires a lot of perfecting .
On the road to China
We saw in late November the first direct consignments of Australian nectarines into mainland China as a result of the protocol announced in May , 2016
The difficult growing conditions experienced in eastern Australia in the spring has created challenges for the Summerfruit industry to deliver on the expectations that importers in China had for the first direct access Australian nectarines . The lower brix levels , and an understanding of the quality of fruit that Chinese consumers prefer , led a number of Australian growers and exporters to choose to not send direct shipments until quality levels improved . Or , indeed , to send only small lines of fruit that were specially selected to meet those expectations .
These decisions should be applauded by the industry because it demonstrates a long-term view to a commitment in developing a reputation for Australian nectarines and positioning us as a supplier of high-quality product . Unfortunately , this commitment is not shared by all of those involved in the Summerfruit industry , which has resulted in some low brix , poor quality early season fruit arriving in markets in China . The actions of a few can impact upon the rest of industry by creating a poor initial impression of new season fruit from Australia . It is disappointing to see , following years of investment , negotiating and hard work by industry and DoAWR to secure this direct market access .
8 Australian Stonefruit Grower | December 2016 summerfruit . com . au