Rain fails to dent Select Harvests’ almond crop in NSW

See what impact rain has had on Select Harvests’ almond harvest.

Select Harvests is halfway through its almond harvest, with favourable conditions in Victoria and South Australia and rain disruptions in NSW.

SELECT Harvests has had a lucky escape from potentially damaging heavy rain, which has hit NSW in the past week.

Major flooding around Sydney has disrupted Select Harvests’ almond harvesting in NSW, but the vulnerable open shell Non-Pareil variety was already picked and in storage before the rain came.

Select Harvest managing director Paul Thompson said the remaining NSW crop was closed shell pollinator varieties, which were less vulnerable to wet conditions.

“We anticipate completing harvest in the next few weeks, weather permitting,” Mr Thomson said.

“We are not anticipating any volume impact from the rain and maintain our original forecast of over 27,700 tonnes.”

Harvesting was already halfway through across the company’s orchards, with favourable conditions experienced in Victoria and South Australia.

Mr Thompson said 50 per cent of the crop had been delivered to Select Harvests’ Carina West

processing plant, with 10 per cent already processed.

He said 20 per cent of the crop had been sold at $6.60 a kilogram — a relatively low price — but this was not to be taken as reflective of the total pool return.

Almond prices have been depressed during the past year due to a huge Californian harvest.

The US is expecting a smaller crop this year due to dry conditions, although estimates will be firmed up in the coming six weeks as the US Department of Agriculture releases key harvest data.

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