Your favourite summer fruit might be scarce—here's what else you can pack in your picnic basket!
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As many get ready to make the most of warmer months ahead, there’s one thing people can’t help but look forward to…
A picnic-packed summer full of delicious treats!
Unfortunately, the much-loved summer staple Bowen mangoes won’t be overflowing on supermarket shelves this year due to a warmer-than-average winter.
But fear not because there are still plenty of other tasty treats for the summer picnics. Below are some top picks for your fruit baskets:
Last season, the pineapple industry suffered through a natural flowering event that resulted in a huge glut of prematurely ripened fruit.
But a mild, dry winter this year meant good news for growers, and now there’s plenty of pineapples to go around.
Central Queensland grower Barry Brooks said: 'The eating quality improves when you have nice, sunny, warm days, and we seem to be getting plenty of them at the moment. That also helps to keep the sugar levels up.'
Mr Brooks shared that he was expecting a good-sized crop that would gradually ripen rather than all at once, which happened in the previous year.
'We’ve been able to regulate the flow of fruit from flowering through to harvest.'
Half of his harvest will be sold on supermarket shelves, while the other half will be sent to the Golden Circle canary for processing.
'Pineapples are a bit smaller at the moment, which is quite good because they [Golden Circle] don't like the big fruit,' he said.
'Anything too big is too big for the tin.'
But according to Mr Brooks, regardless of the pineapple’s size, the quality remains the same.
'If you want a nice, sweet pineapple, start eating now,' he added.
For lychee-lovers out there, here’s some great news for you!
The lychee industry enjoyed an amazing record-breaking crop in the previous year. Well, will this year be any different?
For 2023, growers are predicting a crop of 80 per cent of an average year—which means Australians can still enjoy an abundance of home-grown lychees during summer!
'They're going to be about, and it's an exciting time when the exotic subtropicals get on the market, and we know there's an increasing demand for these great pieces of fruit,' Australian Lychee Growers Association President Derek Foley said.
However, there would be slightly fewer lychees to buy as nearly 22% of Australian lychees end up overseas.
As for Mr Foley’s farm at Bundaberg, most of their crop will be available in the domestic market, so Aussies can still enjoy home-grown lychees in their supermarket.
'We encourage everybody to support the lychee industry, support a farmer, and enjoy it on your dessert or your lychee daiquiri, or even in your fruit salad,' Mr Foley advised.
Lastly, Australians can also expect good-looking stone fruits, such as peaches and nectarines, this summer!
Tess Winkler, a peach and nectarine grower from Childers, near Bundaberg, said her trees are full of great fruit.
While last season’s stone fruit crop was larger, this year’s quality will still be exceptional.
'The taste of our fruits [is] usually really, really good,' she said.
'There's going to be [peaches and nectarines] in abundance from our little place.'
'As long as we don't get any storms or hail, hopefully, we'll have a good year.'
Which fruit do you look forward to the most during summer, dear members? Share them with us in the comments below!
A picnic-packed summer full of delicious treats!
Unfortunately, the much-loved summer staple Bowen mangoes won’t be overflowing on supermarket shelves this year due to a warmer-than-average winter.
But fear not because there are still plenty of other tasty treats for the summer picnics. Below are some top picks for your fruit baskets:
Despite the shortage of mangoes, other tropical fruits, such as pineapple, will be available this summer. Image source: Freepik.
Last season, the pineapple industry suffered through a natural flowering event that resulted in a huge glut of prematurely ripened fruit.
But a mild, dry winter this year meant good news for growers, and now there’s plenty of pineapples to go around.
Central Queensland grower Barry Brooks said: 'The eating quality improves when you have nice, sunny, warm days, and we seem to be getting plenty of them at the moment. That also helps to keep the sugar levels up.'
Mr Brooks shared that he was expecting a good-sized crop that would gradually ripen rather than all at once, which happened in the previous year.
'We’ve been able to regulate the flow of fruit from flowering through to harvest.'
Half of his harvest will be sold on supermarket shelves, while the other half will be sent to the Golden Circle canary for processing.
'Pineapples are a bit smaller at the moment, which is quite good because they [Golden Circle] don't like the big fruit,' he said.
'Anything too big is too big for the tin.'
But according to Mr Brooks, regardless of the pineapple’s size, the quality remains the same.
'If you want a nice, sweet pineapple, start eating now,' he added.
For lychee-lovers out there, here’s some great news for you!
The lychee industry enjoyed an amazing record-breaking crop in the previous year. Well, will this year be any different?
For 2023, growers are predicting a crop of 80 per cent of an average year—which means Australians can still enjoy an abundance of home-grown lychees during summer!
'They're going to be about, and it's an exciting time when the exotic subtropicals get on the market, and we know there's an increasing demand for these great pieces of fruit,' Australian Lychee Growers Association President Derek Foley said.
However, there would be slightly fewer lychees to buy as nearly 22% of Australian lychees end up overseas.
As for Mr Foley’s farm at Bundaberg, most of their crop will be available in the domestic market, so Aussies can still enjoy home-grown lychees in their supermarket.
'We encourage everybody to support the lychee industry, support a farmer, and enjoy it on your dessert or your lychee daiquiri, or even in your fruit salad,' Mr Foley advised.
Lastly, Australians can also expect good-looking stone fruits, such as peaches and nectarines, this summer!
Tess Winkler, a peach and nectarine grower from Childers, near Bundaberg, said her trees are full of great fruit.
While last season’s stone fruit crop was larger, this year’s quality will still be exceptional.
'The taste of our fruits [is] usually really, really good,' she said.
'There's going to be [peaches and nectarines] in abundance from our little place.'
'As long as we don't get any storms or hail, hopefully, we'll have a good year.'
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