Farmers in Western Australia's far north leave tonnes of mangoes unpicked, with a flooded market making continuing this year's harvest an unviable option.
He estimates more than 400 bins of mangoes will remain nestled in the 120,000 trees of his orchard this season."It was an unfortunate decision that was made; it was just an economic decision," Mr Angel said.Christopher Cope has been assessing fruit and vegetables at the Sydney markets for about 50 years.
He said mangoes usually hit supermarket shelves at a steady pace, with staggered ripening times in growing regions across northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and north Queensland.Mangoes are selling at low prices across the country as large volumes hit the shelves at the same time. "Generally, there's a gap between Katherine and Mareeba and the coastal Queensland fruit," Mr Cope said.With the market flooded, prices had dropped close to historic lows, with the R2E2 variety suffering the harshest value squeeze."For that Darwin fruit at the end, you're talking about a dollar a tray.
"That doesn't cover the cost of the package or the transport or the packing or the merchants and storage and everything else." Mr Cope expected an increased demand for mangoes over the Christmas period and the high quality of fruit coming out of Queensland would see prices bounce back in the coming weeks.He said the decision to end his season early had been difficult but with staffing challenges, wet weather, and increased freight costs, he was left with little choice.
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