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Australia: water allocation not enough for apple growers
Australia
Thursday 20 September 2007
Harcourt apple growers say a 30% water allocation, announced by Coliban, is welcome, but will mean another "survival season" for fruit growers in central Victoria. It is the minimum allocation needed to run the system efficiently.
The Harcourt Fruitgrowers Association's Trevor Peeler says last summer's harvest was helped by rain and high apple prices, and the region grossed less than half its usual harvest, but many growers will again have to rip out older trees to reduce the size of their orchard.
A 30% water allocation isn't enough to grow a crop of apples.
"We thin off most of the fruit and just go into survival mode rather than looking at a profitable year. The debt's starting to rise, stress on orchardists’ is starting to rise again with no follow-up rains," he said.
The Harcourt Fruitgrowers Association's Trevor Peeler says last summer's harvest was helped by rain and high apple prices, and the region grossed less than half its usual harvest, but many growers will again have to rip out older trees to reduce the size of their orchard.
A 30% water allocation isn't enough to grow a crop of apples.
"We thin off most of the fruit and just go into survival mode rather than looking at a profitable year. The debt's starting to rise, stress on orchardists’ is starting to rise again with no follow-up rains," he said.
