Australia’s banana industry was devastated yesterday by a cyclone that reached nearly 300Km/h.
Cyclone Larry slammed into Far North Queensland, leaving a trail of destruction that included Australia's $300 million banana industry.
With winds up to 290km/h, the storm hit the coast near Innisfail, south of Cairns, tearing roofs off homes and knocking down trees and powerlines.
Banana growers were among the worst hit, with about 200,000 tonnes of bananas reported to be wiped out - about 80 per cent of the national crop. Up to 4,000 workers are now temporarily without work as a result.
Innisfail and its southern neighbour Tully, which are Australia's production centre for bananas, bore some of the worst damage. Plantations and infrastructure were flattened.
One of the country's biggest producers, ABC Bananas, had two farms covering about 800ha destroyed in the category 5 storm.
"Basically the whole banana industry has been wiped out," said ABC Bananas business and quality manager Rosa Arcella in the national media. In coming days farmers will try to salvage what they can but supplies of bananas will dry up completely within two weeks.
