Gayndah, located near Bundaberg in Queensland’s Burnett region, is Australia’s unofficial mandarin capital. The citrus season in Gayndah is booming, resulting in juicy and sweet mandarins for consumers. The quality and quantity of citrus have increased by approximately 30% from last year’s crop. The exceptional quality, especially of imperial mandarins, coming off the trees has delighted growers like Dennis Smith. He said the sugar levels are increasing nicely, producing plenty of juice, and putting a smile on their faces. However, growers disagree with retailers about when to ship their produce to supermarkets, citing that they prefer sending higher quality fruit later in the season.
Although production this season is booming, production costs remain an ongoing issue, with prices not meeting production costs. Growers like Mr. Smith want prices to increase, so they can make a little profit.
One of the happy outcomes of this boom in production is that the Burnett region’s labour shortage is ending with the reopening of international borders. Backpackers are returning to fill up hostels in the region, which has made a significant improvement in the supply of labourers. Growers are overjoyed to have an influx of labourers after three years of border closures.
Overall, this season, the Gayndah region’s mandarin crop is juicy, sweet, and of exceptional quality, bringing smiles to the faces of many growers as they supply the state and country with tasty fruit again.
