Mango farmers fear for their multi-million-dollar crops as they grapple with ongoing torrential rain and muddy orchards.
Mango farmers John and Debbie Nucifora fear they will lose this year's crop if prolonged rain continues to fall.abc.net.
The area has already received nearly 400 millimetres of rain this month, up from the usual 20 millimetres.Mango grower John Nucifora checks his fruit for rain damage. "Our machinery finds it hard to travel up and down the rows, we are travelling in slop and the fruit doesn't like the wet weather," he said.
It has been a tough year for the mango industry, with an oversupply of the fruit to the market in December leading to some of the lowest prices in years. Mr Nucifora said the daily deluge was another headache in an industry already facing a 30 per cent increase in production costs, including fertiliser and fuel."When you lose a crop, you lose a year's income."Chairman of Growcom Joe Morro who also grows mangoes in the district, said it was one of the "biggest wet seasons" ever experienced in the relatively dry district.
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