Cherry growers are counting the cost of two very wet and stormy weekends.
According to Fruit Producers SA CEO, Grant Piggott, between 50 and 70 per cent of the fruit this season will have to be thrown out, depending on the location of the grower.
“The dampness on a mature cherry swelts skin and ultimately it cracks and then, often it becomes diseased on the tree,” Grant Piggott said in an ARN interview with Jennie Lenman and Adam Connelly.
“I think the key message, in spite of the weather; cherry producers will still produce cherries. There will be good cherries in the shops still, there just won’t be as many of them,”
He is expecting the quality of stocks in shops to improve next week and says there are still some ‘pick your own’ farms open for business, including Fleurieu Cherries which plans to be open Wednesday 20 , Thursday 21 and Friday 22 December.
Hear Grant Piggott’s chat with ARN’s Adam Connelly and Jennie Lenman via the audio play window below:
