One of Australia’s favourite mangoes – the Honey Gold – returns to supermarket shelves nationally this week as producer Piñata Farms transitions its Northern Territory harvest to Katherine.
Piñata Farms managing director Gavin Scurr said the 145-hectare Katherine crop was expected to yield slightly more than last season because all trees were now in full production.
Overall, he expected the 2025-2026 crop – including mangoes grown by some 25 third-party growers in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia – to yield a similar volume to the previous three seasons.
The Katherine harvest began on Monday, following four weeks of harvesting at Piñata Farms’ 70-hectare Darwin farm. Fruit from that region has been available in South Australia since late October.
Honey Gold mangoes are harvested overnight when Northern Territory conditions are cooler, and storms less likely. Piñata Farms’ remains the only commercial grower to pick at night.
Focus on quality pays off
“While volume from Darwin was not as high as initially hoped, our focus on quality has paid off and it was probably the best we’ve achieved since the first harvest in 2019. We’re attributing the improvement to successful trials involving adaptations to our growing practices. We’ll look at increasing the scope of these trials leading up to next season,” Mr Scurr said.
Third-party grower Razor Rock Farm of Katherine is also expected to start harvesting this week. Following the Northern Territory, the harvest will head east, with the Bowen region marking the first of the Queensland crops to harvest Honey Golds around late November to early December.
"The Queensland crop is patchy in some areas – possibly due to a prolonged winter that included unseasonal warm spells. The broader industry is experiencing the same patchiness with other varieties such as Kensington Pride, R2E2 and Calypso,” Mr Scurr said.
"We're expecting to end up with a reasonable crop, similar to the past three years. Quality will be as great as always as the Honey Gold is a consistent performer.”
Honey Gold mangoes are known for their distinct, rich flavour, deep golden colour, and long shelf life. Positioned as a premium fruit, they are available nationally at all leading supermarkets until late February or early March.