The needs of soup kitchens, old people’s homes and other charities have been exhausted, but fruit still needs to be taken from trees in order to prevent ongoing disease, so growers are simply “shake stripping” trees and mowing underneath.

Cloudy, overcast and cool conditions up until mid-September pushed the North Coast harvest back two to four weeks, so the low chill fruit – which normally enjoys a period of sole supply to the market – this year had to compete on the market floor with high chill southern production.

The market crashed in November, with the majority of low chill producers still having the bulk of their fruit to harvest.

Farmgate prices bottomed at $1 a kilogram, compared to the $4/kg North Coast growers received throughout last season.

Nectarines and peaches were this week retailing for $1.99/kg.

Exacerbating the later season was the fact production across the low chill region – which goes from Port Macquarie to Childers in Queensland – was up 20 per cent, but consumer demand has been slow to take off.

Low Chill Australia Inc president Ray Hick said cool weather traditionally dampens demand for stonefruit, which is perceived as hot weather fare.

For a short period early in the season, those low chill producers who were able to get fruit to market, enjoyed good returns of up to $36 for 5kg trays, but many North Coast growers were still picking now, where harvest is normally complete by the end of November, he said.

“Our growers found it difficult to find an agent willing to try to sell their fruit for them once the southern fruit came on,” he said.

With on-farm storage limited generally to around one day’s pick, North Coast growers have had no option but to give their produce away or leave it on the ground.

Mr Hick said combined with other issues currently hanging over the stonefruit industry, such as the suspension of disease control chemicals and the start of US imports next June, it was likely the poor returns would result in a big reduction in low chill production next year.

“We offer a niche product – a high quality fruit available in the early parts of October, but our industry is not in a healthy situation at the moment.