For the past four weeks, Sarvan Singh has been salvaging fruit from the floor of his banana plantation in the Tweed Valley, Australia. Last month, strong winds from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred swept through his 8-hectare farm on the Cudgen plateau, causing extensive damage. Approximately half of Singh's 20,000 trees, despite being tied and propped, succumbed to the winds, leaving him without income for the upcoming year.
Singh reported a 90% production loss, stating, "The plants at the back won't bunch until the same time next year, so as far as anything for me to get production out of in the next six or seven months, I wouldn't have 1,000 plants." This marks the third cyclone impact on his plantation in a decade, with Alfred delivering a more severe blow than previous cyclones Debbie and Oma in 2017 and 2019.
In a bid to salvage immature fruit, Singh has been covering them with banana leaves and bags. He expressed doubt about the marketability of the remaining produce, saying, "But the quality of that fruit, I would not be able to send to Sydney markets or Melbourne markets." Despite efforts to salvage some of the crop, Singh is uncertain about the financial returns, adding, "I don't even know whether I can get 50 cents out of them, that's how bad it is."
Nearby, Tropical Fruit World, an agri-tourism facility, also faced severe damage. The facility, which spans nearly 90 hectares, was closed for at least five days. Farm supervisor Joey Smith noted that bananas and avocados suffered the most, with wind gusts reaching 110 kph. Staff managed to harvest about 500 kilograms of bananas, but the fruit was bruised and damaged.
Smith mentioned considerations for cyclone-proofing the farm, including growing lower trees and harvesting before cyclone events. The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development reported that 116 hectares of banana plantations were affected, with about 1.6 million kilograms of banana produce damaged or destroyed across five NSW local government areas.
Despite the extensive damage, the impact on banana prices is expected to be minimal due to NSW's smaller market share compared to Queensland.
Source: ABC News