Larger crop of sweeter stone fruit for summer

Australian fresh produce business Montague said it was expecting a larger stone fruit crop compared to last season and is ready to pack the additional fruit.

With over 6,600,950 kg of fruit forecasted to be packed by Montague, the company anticipates a strong crop of larger, sweeter plums, peaches and nectarines.

“The 2022/23 summer proved to be challenging for many growers due to the excessive amount of rainfall in some regions, and hail. The wetter growing conditions resulted in a lower crop; however, we are working hard with our growers to prepare for a strong harvest with a larger crop,” said Rowan Little, Chief Innovation Officer.

Montague and its network of partners grow stone fruit in the following Australian regions: Stanthorpe (Qld), Swan Hill, Cobram, Katunga and Shepparton (Vic), Donnybrook and Perth Hills (WA). It has more than 340,960 trees grown in these regions.

Andrew Routley with CROC EGGS plums from his family orchard.

“The stone fruit harvest begins in late October through to March 2024 and the entire business is embracing this season with renewed enthusiasm, following a low yield crop last summer,” said Angela Bracken, Senior Marketing Manager.

“The team have been exhausting all avenues to improve bird management and water use in the orchard and to reduce waste since last summer. The business is sustainability-focused and part of that will include consumer education on storage and different uses for stone fruit this season. Australia has to reduce food waste,” Bracken said.

Montague stone fruit is all hand-picked and grown to strict specifications to ensure the fruit meets the brand standards. The produce available includes CROC EGGS plums and MONTAGUE Tree plums from November until March 2024. Donut peaches will be available from January.

Images courtesy of Montague.