Fat mangoes put rivals to shame

Kununurra mangoes were late bloomers this year but the long wait has yielded fat healthy fruit.

Oria Orchards owner Chris Robinson said this year’s fruit was ready for picking a month later than usual but the crops were producing high quality mangoes.

“We had a good growing season so the fruit is quite fat so it presents really well,” he said.

“I saw some Northern Territory stuff in Coles which was quite narrow and skinny and didn’t look very good at all.

“That was beside some Ord River stuff which looked fantastic beside it.”

Mr Robinson predicted 2012 was “not a huge year, but a good year” for local mangoes, with high quality yields being harvested since last week.

“Prices haven’t settled down yet but because it’s not a huge yield year we should maintain reasonable prices throughout the year,” he said.

However, Mr Robinson said the late harvest put the fruit at risk from early wet season storms.

“Let’s hope the weather hangs off another three weeks and we get through without … disease,” he said.