Reports in today are that Cyclone Yasi, which made landfall on the North Queensland coast last night, has devastated crops in the area and damaged 75 per cent of the regions banana crop.
The Australian Banana Growers Council chairman Cameron MacKay said in a media release today growers in the Tully and Innisfail region have been the worst hit, with an estimated 95 per cent of the crop there being affected.
“With industry worth $400 million, a total of 75 per cent has been affected,” said Mr MacKay. “The majority of Australian bananas are grown in tropical north Queensland, so this is a fairly significant disaster for our industry,” he added.
Peak horticultural industry body Growcom reported that papaw, papaya and tropical tree fruit crops like rambutans and lychees had also been destroyed by the cyclone.
“On the ground reports at Tully say that the cyclone has cleared a swathe through banana crops, papaya and papaw plantations and tropical tree fruit crops, with banana plants felled, trees uprooted and unprecedented views of devastation,” reported Growcom chief executive officer Alex Livingstone.
“About 40 per cent of the total papaw and papaya crop has been lost. However, while papaw and banana plants can be expected to be back in production in nine to 12 months, tropical tree fruit growers in the district will face years of recovery, having to replant and nurture new trees,” he said.
“It may be that already indebted growers will decide not to soldier on in the face of yet another major setback.”
For many in the region the storm will bring back unpleasant memories of Cyclone Larry, which caused major damage to the horticultural industry in 2006, and caused the price of bananas to skyrocket to A$18 per kg.
Mr Mackay added that bananas were also grown in small pockets in southeast Queesnland, New South Wales and Western Australia, so supply would not dry up completely, but the loss of almost all of North Queensland’s production was almost beyond comprehension, he added.
“While there will be an interruption in supply for the next four months, and consumers are going to see some weather damaged fruit, this should not detract from the fact that there is still some good quality product available,” he said.
“It is very important for our families, our workers, our economy and all Australian banana consumers that we get the mess cleared away as soon as possible, so that our crops can be replanted and buildings restored to be able to get fruit back on the shelves sooner rather than later,” he said.
