When I first worked here as a journalist back in 1983, dried fruit was the king. The entire region breathed life thanks to the massive exports of the shiny black sultanas, burnt dry by the Sunraysia sun. So popular was the fruit grown here that much of it went straight overseas - with countries such as Germany demanding the biggest share. The 'blockies'' pay cheques fueled Mildura's growth and economy - so that a 'good year' on the blocks meant a 'good year' for all Sunraysia businesses, especially the farm machinery, irrigation supplies, car dealers and other agricultural retailers. According to the local 'Sunraysia Daily' newspaper the 'blockies' have endured their worst ever season.
Production is down, and orders are slow.
Growers still plant vines. At the giant Southcorp owned plants in the Sunraysia, grapes of all varieties are pressed for their juice - not for their eating, or for baking in those traditional fruit cakes that less and less of us bake at home. By selling their grapes for wine, the blockies by-pass the expensive and time consuming processes of dipping their sultanas in drying solution, then laying them all out to dry in the sun. There seems little to be done to reverse this trend. Demand for wine is still going up, whilst demand for dried fruit continues to fall.