North Queensland mango farmers are fearing for their multi-million-dollar crops as they grapple with ongoing torrential rain and muddy orchards.
The Atherton Tablelands – considered the fruit bowl of the north — has received hundreds of millimetres of rain since December, including daily downpours for most days this week.
While the tropical north is famed for its wet season — where rainfall is measured in metres — the mango-growing hub in the Mareeba district is considerably drier. A welcome sign boasts of its '"300 sunny days a year".
The area has already received nearly 400mm of rain this month — up from the usual 200mm.
Local grower John Nucifora, owner of one of the largest mango farms in the north, was hoping to start harvesting tomorrow.
However, he said predicted daily falls of up to 100mm would see that delayed until Sunday, or early next week, to allow the fruit — and the farm — to dry out.
"Our machinery finds it hard to travel up and down the row," he said.
"We are travelling in slop and the fruit doesn't like the wet weather."
Mr Nucifora said he was yet to get 60,000 trays of the fruit to market, in an industry worth more than $50 million locally.
"There's a turning point and I dare say we're at that turning point now," he said.
"There are farms that have lost quite a bit of fruit because of the rain and fruit is getting marked."
The rain causes external markings on the fruit as well as small brown dots on the flesh.
His wife Debbie Nuficora hopes the rain eases soon.
"We do enjoy the rain sometimes. It's definitely got its benefits but we've really had enough now," Ms Nucifora said.
"It's had a big impact on farm in terms of erosion and we'd like it to stop."
Support could be on the cards
It has been a tough year for the mango industry, with an oversupply of the fruit to the market in December leading to some of the lowest prices in years.
Prices for the so-called king of the fruit – the Kensington Pride variety – dipped to $1.50 last month on supermarket shelves.
Mr Nucifora said the daily deluge was another headache in an industry that already faced an increase of 30 per cent in production costs, including fertiliser and fuel.
"If someone goes to work and they lose a week's pay, they jump up and down," Mr Nucifora said.
"When you lose a crop, you lose a year's income."
Chairman of Growcom Joe Morro, who also grows mangoes in the district, says it is one of the "biggest wet seasons" ever experienced in the relatively dry district.
He said road closures in the Proserpine area, hundreds of kilometres south, were also playing havoc with getting the fruit to market.
But Mr Morro said he did not expect a rise in prices, or the numbers of mangoes hitting the market to change substantially, as a result of a bumper season.
"The late varieties, even though they've got to battle through the wet and there may be delays in harvesting, the volumes will still come out," Mr Morro said.
"Unfortunately with the rain, some fruit will be downgraded and some of the supermarkets won't accept the product at all.
"It's unfortunate because that means some farmers will get less money, because the premium money comes from what we sell to the supermarkets."
He said discussions with the Queensland government about financial assistance for growers affected by floods could be on the cards.
"We haven't had any discussions at this stage but we will be over the next few weeks as we start to see the impact of what's occurred."
