Tis the Season

Saturday 14th November, 2009

We are truly blessed to have such a diverse range of tropical fruits grown in Tropical North Queensland, and with the imminent ‘wet’ upon us; November signifies the start of the exotic fruit season. Already local lychees, star apples, sapodillas, rollinas, and pomelos are making their entrance into the markets.

The mangoes you see at present are from the Northern Territory; as their season commenced in October. Traditionally at the Brisbane Markets, the first tray of mangoes is auctioned for charity, and this year a tray of 12 mangoes sold for $45,000. But have not fear, wait a week or two and you’ll see our local mangoes start to appear in our shops, on the side of the road and in our markets, at a lot cheaper price!

Nearly four years has passed since Cyclone Larry swept through and destroyed many of the fruit trees in its path. The good news is that farmers are reporting heavy flowering at present and an expected early crop and ‘bumper’ season for rambutans, mangosteens and other exotics. Already small amounts of these fruits are trickling into the market from Cooktown and Mossman and as the season moves in a southerly trend, there should be an abundance of fruit following over the next month or two.