Difficult year ahead for South Australian horticulture

The first half of 2017 is looking to be a challenging time for winegrape and horticulture industries in SA, with many growers still recovering from unfavorable weather, including hail and floods.

The Wine Grape Council of SA executive officer, Peter Hackworth, stated that he predicts a hike in price for grapes in 2017 after the hail that hit Riverland in November cut production by 10%.

“That will probably mean the crop will be down in 2017 and likely to be down in 2018 because the following year’s bud will be affected by that extended cold.”

Last year was one of mixed performance in the horticulture industry, according to the Horticulture Coalition of SA chair, Susie Green, with 2017 likely to be similar.

“Apples and pears have been impacted by storms so I don’t think we’ll see production as high as in 2016. In other sectors of horticulture it’s likely to be a good year – in areas which haven’t been hit with bad weather.”

Ms Green said the overall value of the almond industry continued to grow in 2016, while tomatoes, potatoes and citrus also performed well.

source: stockandland.com.au