Tasmania's fruit growers ramping up pre-Christmas production

Tasmania's fruit growers are looking to new markets and technologies to maximise profits, but they are still at the mercy of the weather.

At Westerway in the state's south, Richard Clark said with demand for cherries and raspberries peaking in the run up to Christmas growers were keeping a close eye on the skies.

"We've had a little bit of rain so now the fruit is getting to a really good size and a good yield I think this year," he said.

"Rain both swells up the raspberries so rain is good, we get bigger fruit but constant rain over several days will lead to botrytis and mould issues so that's a bit of a concern."

Phil Pyke from the Fruit Growers Association said just last week, storms caused significant damage to some cherry crops in the state.

"We certainly hope that the weather keeps on a very dry pattern from now on, given that even under protective cropping there can be issues if it's constant rain and drizzle," he said.

Mr Clark is an economist and as well as a raspberry processor and spends part of the year in New York and harvest time on his family's raspberry farm at Westaway.

He has changed the business's focus so now most of the 150 tonnes picked every year is processed.

"We mechanically harvest 80 per cent of our fruit that's for the jam market, the juice market and ice-creams, whereas most farms concentrate solely on the fresh market.

Mr Pyke said that could be the way of things to come for some niche Tasmanian producers.

"The value adding is very important because what it allows is that small size fruit that you wouldn't send off to Coles and Woolies, or even sell locally, there is a use for that," he said.

There is no rest for producers yet.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting showers in the Derwent Valley every day this week and it is a similar story in the state's north.