Christmas boom on hold as Tasmanian berries and cherries ripen too late

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Tasmanians are flocking to local producers for festive gifts and food.  While fishermen are enjoying a surge in sales, some farmers are still waiting for the bulk of their Christmas crops to ripen.

Transcript

00:00Margate Wharf in Tasmania's south usually looks a little sleepier.

00:08But two days before Christmas, hundreds have turned out to get their hands on crayfish.

00:13I knew it was going to be crazy. It always sort of is.

00:17And being Christmas, it's madness.

00:20Fresh rock lobster are non-negotiable for their annual seafood spread.

00:25Oh yes, every year, every year. Normally you don't have 500 people to deal with though, normally.

00:30Hopefully three, but I'd be happy with one right now with how long I've been waiting.

00:34Back on dry land, some farmers haven't been able to keep up with the Christmas demand.

00:39This year's season has been quite late. We're about two weeks behind schedule.

00:44Not that there is a schedule with farming.

00:47But day trippers to Westaway raspberry farmer determined not to let Christmas dessert plans fall through.

00:53There's not heaps of berries here, but when you can find the berries, they are beautiful.

00:59Farmer Richard Clarke normally harvests 30% of his crop by Christmas.

01:03This year, that figure is 2%.

01:06There will be an abundance of raspberries in the new year, in the first, second, third weeks of January.

01:11There will be raspberries coming out over our ears.

01:13While Tasmanian berries are hard to find on the bush and on the shelf,

01:17it's expected this crop will be filled with ripe fruit in the weeks to come.

01:21Of course, the Christmas rush isn't just on the raspberry farm.

01:25We're just honestly looking around at the moment, trying to find some stuff.

01:28We're a bit lost with it.

01:29You definitely see some things and it just clicks.

01:31Like, you know they'll like it, but some people are difficult.

01:35It'll be preparation. We've got about 17 coming, so it'll be a big day.

01:38The Elizabeth Mall wrapping station has taken some pressure off last-minute shoppers.

01:43As long as people don't come with the stuffed toys that have got weird unicorn horns or something like that, I'm usually okay.

01:49Helping Tasmanians put a bow on Christmas preparations.

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