Local banana growers to benefit from disaster
Fri 31 March 2006
Gail Loader, Journalism
Cyclone Larry, which decimated the banana crops of Northern Queensland recently, has proved to be a blessing in disguise for Sunshine Coast producers.
The category four cyclone destroyed 80 per cent of Australia's banana supplies, which were worth $300 million, resulting in a nationwide shortage, ABC Online reports.
Part-owner of a local farmer’s market, Kevin Erbacher, said that Sunshine Coast banana growers stand to significantly benefit from the expected increase in demand for their product.
Mr Erbacher said that local growers have always struggled to compete against their northern counterparts, as the northern plants consistently produce better crops with bigger bunches.
“Local growers were struggling to survive before (cyclone Larry),” Mr Erbacher said. "It is almost like a lotto win.”
Sunshine Coast banana grower and wholesaler Diane West told ABC Online that bananas are expected to wholesale at $50 per box and reach $5 per kilo in supermarkets.
Less than a day after the cyclone hit, The Age quoted a Melbourne merchant as saying he could have sold a carton of bananas for $100.
The Australian Banana Growers Council’s president, Patrick Leahy, has urged those in the industry to be sensible about the situation.
Growcom chairman, Paul Ziebarth, said that many of the growers his organisation represents have experienced a massive loss.
Mr Ziebarth believes that the demand for certain produce will certainly increase, as there will be a shortage of bananas and exotic fruits for a while, ABC Online reports.
Local grower Diane West said the domestic banana shortage had given rise to fears that the market will be opened up to South-East Asian imports.
Australia does not currently import bananas because of quarantine issues, The Australian reports.
However, a bid from the Philippines to import bananas is currently before the quarantine watchdog, Biodiversity Australia, with a report expected by July.
Biodiversity Australia spokesman, John Wilson, reassured growers that the impact of cyclone Larry would not affect the outcome of the Philippine’s risk assessment application.
He stated that no quarantine measures would be relaxed to compensate for the loss of the North Queensland banana crop.
Farmers in the cyclone ravaged areas of North Queensland stated that if the market was opened to imports it would be difficult to compete and many would not replant new crops, The Australian reports.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran, has said that he is aware of grower’s concerns regarding the potential shortfall of Australian bananas.
Mr McGauran said that the cyclone would not affect the assessment of potential quarantine risks of imported fruit.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics research shows that banana crops are Queensland’s second biggest agricultural industry, behind sugar cane.
The Australian Banana Growers Council’s chief executive, Tony Heidrich, said that the majority of bananas grown in Australia are for the domestic market, Malaysia’s The Star online reports.
The Age states that Australians consume more than 15 million bananas per week.
Major retailers, such as Woolworths, are battling to keep banana pr
ices down in the wake of cyclone Larry, The Age reports.
With the prospect of supermarkets running out of bananas, at least one major retailer has already petitioned the government to lift the ban on the imported product.
However, local independent retailer, Erbacher’s, which has been selling Sunshine Coast produce for over 25 years, has not raised its price dramatically in a bid to keep the local banana prices viable.
Image(s) designed by Gail Loader