What’s growing and slowing in April 2023?
Fruit
Beginning with the staples, Apples. There is plentiful supply and the quality is great. There is supply from South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and Queensland. Galas, Grannies, Fujis are on right now, we expect that Pink Ladies will start halfway through the month. Pears are also coming from multiple regions with an excellent choice of varieties. Expect to find Packham, Williams, Corella, Buerre Bosc, Ya and Nashi’s.
Plums are in good supply, and we expect to have some plum offerings well into May. It was a bad season for stone fruit, but plums fared better than other fruits in that category.
Grapes are on and should be right through the month of April. Do not expect them to last much beyond that, 2023 has been a poor grape season.
Hass variety Avocados had a disruptive season and would usually be in short supply. There are, however, several regions that are still producing, so we expect that Hass will be available for the entire month. If your local market doesn’t have Hass, there are plenty of green skins varieties like Fuentes, Sharwil, Sheppard and Reid’s, to give you your avocado fix. It has been a reasonable year for avocadoes, there are plenty around and prices are stable.
Citrus stocks are reasonable, with a steady supply of Valencia’s and Lemons. Limes are a little short and Mandarins should be coming out this month. There are limited stocks of Yellow and Ruby Grapefruit, but they should get more plentiful as the month progresses.
Fruits that are short this April, include Blueberries and Papaya. We have had a wetter than usual start to the year and both of these lines are impacted.
To compensate, they are reasonable quantities of exotics just hitting the market, keep an eye out for Guavas, Mangosteens, Dragon fruit and Pomegranates to brighten up your fruit bowl.
Vegetables
The Queensland growing season is just kicking off and the southern region is still going strong. Lots of vegetables coming from multiple regions at the same time, which is pretty good news for consumers. We are already seeing prices come back down on Pumpkin,Celery, Broccoli, and Cauliflower. This price and supply trend should continue until cooler temperatures and frosts close the season for the Southerners.
Pumpkin has a boom bust, two-year cycle. It was short last year with high prices, so everyone jumped in this year, causing an over supply and really low prices. Growers will be left with stock and unhappy with the pumpkin returns, so they won’t plant for next April. From this, I predict that this time next year Pumpkin will be short and prices high.
April is usually when Queensland growers start to bring out Brassicas, however, this year seems to have kicked off early. Expect for this month to be spoiled for choice with Lettuce, Eschallots, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, and Broccoli available from just about every state. Also, Kale which has been short for months, will finally be available at full supply.
Carrots, Parsnips, Turnips, Swedes, Daikon and Potatoes are all in good supply, as are most of the salad lines, with Lettuces coming out of Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.
Onions are available but are transitioning so expect supply to dwindle and prices to rise until the Queensland growers start possibly in May. Remember that Queensland, warmer climate onions have a softer skin, than the hard shell varieties that grower in cooler regions.
Overall, our farmers have done a great job producing in what is now the fourth year of very challenging conditions, our tables have not suffered from a lack of choice or supply.
Enjoy these Autumn foods and remember to eat all your colours.
The Team at United Organics
Image: The Diggers Club
