Griffith grower and Almond Board director expects harvest will be on par with last year's crop

The Almond Board of Australia recently released its preseason crop estimate for 2023, with predictions it will come in at 156,200 tonnes.

Griffith almond farmer and Riverina growers director of the Almond Board, James Callipari, said he believes the crop will come out slightly below expectations and on par with last years crop.

"The latest forecast is mostly due to poor pollination, weather and pockets of flooding. The forecast is down on the projections but we're hoping it will still be an okay harvest," he said.

"Every orchard is different but our crop is looking fair. We've escaped the poorer weather during the growing season compared with other industries.

"But not being able to get protected fungicides in a timely fashion is more than likely going to have an effect."

At this stage it's expected the harvest will be delayed several weeks from where it normally starts in February.

"Generally we're in full swing by mid to late February. I'm not sure if it will be delayed by a week or ten days," he said.

He said the impacts of Varroa mite on pollination over the past six months or so were felt but not as harshly as initially predicted or in other states.

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"NSW growers were less affected because we were able to negotiate some hive movements just prior to the start of pollination," he said.

"This allowed beekeepers to move around NSW as long as they weren't in the affected zones under the permit system we help facilitate.

"Other states, especially Victoria, were heavily impacted by hive shortages because of their government's unwillingness to allow hives to move around.

"In the Riverina, we were fairly fortunate because most bees in general use NSW hives.

"We are optimistic and we're just hoping the weather will be stable as we head into harvest.

"Last year we had a number of challenges due to the rain but we got through it for the most part. At this stage, it's a matter of wait and see. We can prepare as much as we can but we can't control the weather," Mr Callipari

According to the Almond Board of Australia, the harvest is expected to be several weeks late due to mild growing conditions.

The season will extend from March, 2023 to February, 2024.

Meantime, bee keepers are rejoicing following the announcement the boarders for bees will reopen for the first time since the Varroa mite outbreak in June last year.

The NSW emergency blue zone is now free of the invasive pest, however areas around Newcastle where the mite was first detected are still requiring bee keepers to check hives and report to authorities on a regular basis.

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