An unusual run of climactic conditions has created a shortage of mangoes out of Kununurra in Western Australia, according to ABC Rural.
Peter Johnson, an industry officer with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food, said temperatures in the region had been above average over the dry season, while a run of cold weather earlier in the year had also impacted production.
The result has been a split crop, the first of which came online in September and early October, with a second due in mid-November. Johnson anticipates the mid-season lull will impact on pricing.
'We had an early cool snap in May which instigated the first flowering and then it wasn't until late July that we got another flowering,” Johnson told ABC Rural.
'It means interrupted supply of fruit, which means that there's going to be periods of time where the mangoes are going to be a bit scarce and expensive. Then you'll find later on in the season that there will be more product coming through.'
The shortage has forced the cancelation of a fundraiser for the Dogs Refuge Home and the Cat Haven, with the Perth-based charity repaying hundreds of people who had pre-purchased cartons of the Kununurra fruit.
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