The smell of salty ocean air, the sound of a sizzling BBQ and the sweet taste of juicy mangoes are all signs that summer has finally arrived. But while we're all dreaming of warm weather, we might have to burst our collective bubbles — because news has broken that the everyone's fave summer treat, the beloved mango, is going to be in low supply due to some unusual weather patterns.
Speaking to Channel 7, Favco Farms manager John Nardi said the very mild Queensland winter has affected mango crops. “There just hasn’t been the right conditions for us to get the crop that we would like to see. Much warmer than normal winter conditions — not enough of a chill,” he said.
“We need a certain amount of chilled weather, cool weather, to get the trees to go into their induction phase which actually causes the flowering.”
But there is a light at the end of the tunnel: Nardi assures stone-fruit lovers that there should be supply coming through a little later than we normally see. “We’ve had a little bit more chill in north Queensland that’s pushing out a bit of flowering now, but if that actually sets fruit or holds fruit, it’s going to be unusually late.
“Likely to be closer to a Christmas start for the far north Queensland crops if they come through.”
So what does this mean for mango-lovers? Unfortunately, getting your hands on mangoes may be more expensive than usual. Given budget constraints on households amidst the cost-of-living crisis, mangoes might be a delicacy that drops off the weekly shop. In addition, the higher cost of mangoes may result in your fave restaurants and bars upping their prices. Cue $150 mango daiquiris.
There should be plenty of other produce options for you to fall back on – while a strawberry may not evoke the same energy as a mango, punnets are around the $1.80 a pop mark right now, so you can pop those in your smoothie instead for now.