Brazilian grapes

An Australian table grape expert believes fears that Australia’s recent heatwave could greatly impact this year’s crop are unfounded.

Mildura grape grower and Australian Table Grape Association chair Nick Muraca told Fruitnet.com that growers from the Sunraysia region have been reassuring him on grape quality.

“I spoke to my son, who’s in Robinvale, and he said everything looks fine, it’s just like a normal year,” Mr Muraca said.

Similarly, growers from Mildura, which has sweated under record temperatures for much of the last fortnight, are reporting that crops are holding up well.

“If this had happened last year or the year before it would have been much worse,” Mr Muraca said.

“This year, our water allocations are much higher so growers can cope better and keep things irrigated.”

A cool change is forecast for the region on Friday.