Fruit Growers Victoria grower services manager Michael Crisera said the region experienced a warmer‑than‑average summer, but demand had remained strong.
“Demand’s been pretty solid, especially in the apple category, and we’re hopeful quality will be better than last year,” Mr Crisera said.
Growers are currently harvesting Granny Smith apples, with the Pink Lady harvest expected to start within the next two weeks.
Cooler night‑time temperatures through early April are forecast to aid colour development in Pink Ladies, following bleaching issues last season when April conditions were unusually hot.
“Those cooler nights are favourable for colour development, so we’re hopeful it will be a better colour year than last season,” Mr Crisera said.
Goulburn Valley orchardist Shane Hall, from MJ Hall and Sons, said the season had presented challenges earlier in the year, with prolonged heat and dry conditions through January and February affecting some early apple varieties.
“It was a tough period to be growing, particularly for early varieties like Gala,” Mr Hall said.
“The heat can affect colour and internal quality, and it can push fruit to mature very quickly if growers aren’t on their game.”
Mr Hall said timely rainfall over the past month or two had helped stabilise conditions and improve fruit quality overall.
“The rain has been really welcome — it’s moderated things and helped crops that were struggling with size,” he said.
“Rainfall does things that irrigation can’t — it even helps with colour”
“We’re seeing some really nice quality coming through in the later varieties like Pink Lady.”
While overall quality has been encouraging, growers expect yields to be variable, with some varieties performing better than others.
On the cost side, escalating fuel and freight prices are placing added strain on growers’ margins.
Apple and Pear Australia Limited has warned diesel prices have surged amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East, flowing directly into transport costs.
Growers report freight rates from the Shepparton region to Sydney have increased from about $3.30 to $4 per 12kg carton.
Mr Crisera said fuel remained one of the biggest challenges facing the industry.
“The cost of getting fruit from farms to packing sheds and then to market has gone up significantly, and the real question is whether those costs can be passed on,” he said.
Mr Hall said growers had limited control over pricing.
“We’re price takers, not price makers,” he said.
“Prices are determined by supply and demand, not our input costs, so while prices have improved a bit, they really need to hold to cover these increases.”
Mr Hall said fuel supply itself had also been a concern during peak harvest.
“If growers can’t get fuel to run tractors through harvest, it becomes a serious problem,” he said.
Labour availability has been mixed, but manageable for some growers.
Mr Hall said his business had relied on workers through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, which had provided a stable workforce, although recent regulatory changes had complicated the program.
Despite the challenges, growers said there had been positives from the warmer season, particularly improved eating quality.
“The flavour in the fruit this year has been exceptional,” Mr Hall said.
“The heat accelerates sugar development, and that’s given us really beautiful flavour.”
With strong demand, improving quality and later‑season varieties still to be harvested, growers remain cautiously optimistic the season can finish strongly, provided rising costs remain manageable.
