A severe hailstorm has devastated citrus farms in Gayndah, Queensland, leaving growers struggling with significant crop losses. Farmers in the region, known as one of Australia's key citrus hubs, say the damage will have long-term impacts on supply and income. Authorities are now assessing the extent of the destruction as growers call for support to recover.
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00:00Some Queensland citrus growers have been hit by hail twice in the same season.
00:08They're now working to remove damaged fruit from the trees to find out how much sellable
00:13product remains.
00:14You can't do nothing with them, there's nothing at all you can do with them when they're marked
00:19like that.
00:20I'm hoping I can sell a composite or a second grade and make a dollar or two out of it.
00:27The Roaths are one of several citrus producers in the north Burnet town of Gainder, four
00:32hours north of Brisbane, who have experienced hailstorms in recent months.
00:37I come out there probably three hours after and there was still ice laying under the trees.
00:45With 70% of his crop damaged, he was considering drastic measures.
00:49I was only thinking of ordering a bulldozer because I'm close to retirement and just putting
00:55a dozer through it.
00:56Most growers have decided to remove the severely affected fruit now, rather than sorting through
01:02the damaged citrus in the packing shed.
01:05Fellow grower Matt Benham was hit by hail twice.
01:10Well luckily it hit trees that had already been hit.
01:14It would have been, we've got one farm that has fared okay, it would have been pretty
01:18devastating if it had copped it as well.
01:21Citrus Australia says while it's a kick in the guts for affected growers, it's unlikely
01:26the hail damage will impact the overall citrus supply.
01:31So we'll be down probably 50-60% overall I'd say, but at the end of the day it just sucks
01:36for the people that have been hit, you don't wish this on anyone.