Australian lychee season ended with extreme weather

Australian lychee growers were fortunate to have their season ending just before Queensland and New South Wales were hit by heavy rainfall and flooding, meaning that despite damage to orchards, the season's harvest was in. In late February and early March, growers in the area from Bundaberg to northern New South Wales had to deal with heavy precipitation and flooding. Jill Houser, managing director of the Australian Lychee Growers Association (ALGA), explains that many growing areas on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, were hit by severe flooding and erosion due to a weather system that was active for days. "There was damage to roads, dams and orchards. It will take months for growers in this region to repair their damage," she explains. "In addition to flooding, growers in Beerwah and Landborough, in south-east Queensland, were also hit by heavy hail flows, which damaged houses, barns, orchards and net covers. The harvest season was already over and many growers had just or ...