This negativity in 'The Australian' this morning may be a...

This negativity in 'The Australian' this morning may be a contributor to how LAU's SP had decreased by A$0.04 (down 3.46 per cent) to A$1.115 by 1055 AEDT (0955 AEST) on the last day of trading for the year, Friday 29 December 2023:

"...Gavin Scurr, head of large-scale producer Pinata Farms, said the company’s Mareeba site in Far North Queensland was lashed by more than a metre of rain after Cyclone Jasper hit.

“We’ve lost a fair bit of fruit,” he said. “In Mareeba we’ve had just over a metre of rain since the cyclone, and mangoes were already (in short supply), but this will shorten them up even more.”

Mr Scurr said due to blemishes on mangoes caused by the rain and wind, the fruit would be downgraded and had to be sold for juice rather than to retail outlets, despite the flesh of the fruit being fine.

“You only get 20-odd per cent of the value in juice of your premium mango,” he said.

“But consumers spend with their eyes and what they expect to see on shelves.”

READ MORE:Cyclone Jasper takes hydro station offline|Bureau, government defend Jasper flooding forecast|Grower loses third of banana farm following Cyclone Jasper|

After the stresses of Covid and the worker shortage, Mr Scurr predicts many farmers will simply pull up stumps.

“Short term, it’s impacted people’s crops – harvest is the most stressful time of the year because it’s the only time you get paid and you need to nail it,” he said.

“In the case of mangoes, you only get one crop per year.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if people say it’s too hard and won’t be back next year.”

Fruit grower Gavin Scurr. Picture: Lachie Millard

The dry El Nino predictions by the BOM have also been called into question by the unseasonal pre-Christmas Cyclone Jasper. “A lot of the private weather guys have got it exactly right, so it’s disappointing the BOM has got it so wrong,” said Mr Scurr.

“It’s taxpayer money which goes to the costs of BOM, so it’s unfortunate. “We’re farmers, not meteorologists – we rely on accurate information..."