Peak for Winter production is close, with Blueberries looking to hit their peak late this week.

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 After what felt like a very long build into the season, we are close to the winter/spring production peak, with approximately three weeks at the top of the cycle. Let’s look at what is happening around the country. 

Far North QLD – After a long period of moving sideways, we are starting to see volumes reduce from this region. The drop will continue over the coming weeks as we move further into September. Quality is still pretty good from this region, and the weather looks good for the next two weeks, with minimum temps sitting mid-teens and max temperatures sitting between 25-30 for the next two weeks. 

Coffs Coast NSW – The majority of the fruit supplied around the country will be coming from the Coffs Coast now, with the peak of the 1111’s (opi) going to harvest over the next 2.5 weeks. Quality has been hit and miss, but that is not unusual after the heat from the prior weekend. However, looking ahead at the harvest conditions for the next week, (aside from today), the weather conditions will settle with maximums of low 20’s, and this will help slow the ripening. Some cooler weather is forecasted for the weekend, with another low-pressure event forecasted by the back of the week, but this will be welcome to smooth out the production for the next three weeks, which will help with moving volume steadily through retail. 

WA Production – Volumes are still on the rise; however, they are proportionately behind the East Coast. We expect the peak of their season to still be a number of weeks away for the northern production. The weather north of Perth looks perfect for berry harvesting, with minimums in the low teens and maximums in the mid-20s for most of the week and clear skies. The weather South of Perth is fairly cool with minimum temps expected under 10 degrees for the week and maximums barely getting above 20 degrees for the week. Next week, the forecast is for cooler temps again, with minimums in single digits and maximums in the mid-teens. 

Strawberries – As noted above, volumes jumped significantly week on week, and we are now in the middle of what we expect to be the peak. The good news is that prices have remained a lot higher than in other years so far. We expect there to be some sharper prices in the short term in the market to keep fruit moving, but we don’t expect this to be a very long tail to the season that we saw in 2023, which saw the QLD crop go all the way into November. 

Raspberries / Blackberries – We are still seeing long cane production out of the Southeast QLD region / Northern NSW, which has seen great quality fruit in stores. MB growers are still several weeks away from the Spring crop, but we are seeing green fruit and flowers at several farms. Just a reminder to all that we need to lock in audit dates for all certifications as often auditors will need 2-3 months’ notice to ensure that we have good coverage. 

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