TED and Liz Knoblock count themselves fortunate that they received sound advice about lychee demand when they moved from Victoria to Coffs Harbour 39 years ago.
“I suggested to my agent in Melbourne that I might grow snap peas,” recalled Mr Knoblock, a wheat grower from Castlemaine who gambled on greener pastures in 1977 as a lifestyle change for his children.
The agent, a Chinese man who intrinsically understood the demands of his people, suggested lychees - provided they were red enough to fit into the popular Buddhist new year celebrations.
As it turned out the agent’s wisdom proved right and subsequent years have proven fruitful. This year’s harvest started last week with Mr Knoblock rising well before dawn and ascended his trees using a scissors-lift and a pair of secateurs to work hard for a month and a half.
As a traditional Buddhist offering bright red berries hanging from a branchlet with leaves are strung above doorways during the lunar new year period – with peak celebrations taking place this weekend.
At $12/kg for the lot, including branches and leaves, the variety of Bengal berry suggested by that agent has proven a market coup for this NSW grower. Fruit in Queensland finishes too early to fill the new year demand.
In fact the Knoblocks are the southern-most lychee grower in Australia, with 350 trees over 3.2 netted hectares (black cockatoos and rainbow lorikeets love ’em) producing 12-14t/year going mostly into Sydney and Melbourne with a tonne of seconds sold on the highway at Coffs Harbour and the same again at Port Macquarie.
Bengal, prone to alternate years’ fruiting, are grown with the reliable Kwai Mae Pink – which is not red enough to attract a premium. The Knoblocks are experimenting with Kaimana, a new variety with golf-ball sized fruit and a small seed that consumers love.
The harvest is not for those who like to sleep-in, with Mr Knoblock arising at 2.30am during the intense six-week window and knocking off before breakfast extracting five tonne in five days for the new year rush.
The Knoblocks also open their gates to tourists: Chinese and Vietnamese Buddists who stare at the pregnant trees, mouths agape, and openly weep.
“We have Vietnamese who come as a family,” he said. “The older ones are most affected, saying they haven’t seen such a sight since childhood. They sit as a family under a tree, cross-legged, and pluck and eat the fruit. It is wonderful to see.”
The demand domestically from immigrants, new and old, means the Knoblocks don’t concern themselves with tricky Chinese access.
“Our market is literally on our doorstep. We have no need to export,” he said.
First shipment to US
The first shipment of Australian lychees to the US, under a three-year pilot program, found a willing market in New York just days before Christmas.
Fruit And Vegetable Growers’ boss John Nardi said a pallet of Tai So from Mareeba grower Marcello Avolio landed for a small loss thanks to a late spring and high domestic prices but the shipment proved the consumers loved the quality. “It showed them we can deliver,” he said.
Jill Houser, Australian Lychee Growers Association, said some of the issues resolved between the two countries during this pilot program included registration of Avamectin for mites in the US and ‘Switch’ for pepper spot in Australia. Next season is the last in the program but the export initiative would be followed by the importation of bare-rooted Marcotts from Taiwan to boost diversity in Australia.
