Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry (TC Larry) crossed the tropical north Queensland coast near Innisfail during the morning of 20 March 2006. It was the first severe tropical cyclone to make landfall at a populated location on Queensland's east coast since Cyclone Rona crossed near the Daintree River in February 1999.
The major damage from TC Larry was along the portion of coast between Cairns in the north and Cardwell in the south which is also the area where approximately 90 percent of Australia’s commercial banana crop is grown.
Wind speeds of 294kp/h were recorded during the cyclone with estimated wind gusts of up to 320kp/h reported for the Innisfail region. The total damage bill for the affected regions has been estimated at in excess of $1.5 billon.
The blow-down of both bunched and unbunched banana plants removed any harvestable fruit for at least 9 months for most producers, and synchronised the next crop cycle across the whole North Queensland industry.
‘This is a serious issue for the whole Australian banana industry because it concentrates market supplies from the next crop cycle. A similar situation occurred 20 years ago after Tropical Cyclone Winifred (TC Winifred) and the experiences from that cyclone can guide our actions for recovery from TC Larry (Lindsay & Daniells 2006).’
It is estimated that approximately 85 percent of Australia’s commercial banana crop is grown in North Queensland from Cardwell through to Tully, and Innisfail through to Babinda and on to the Atherton Tableland.
There are approximately 12,500 hectares devoted to banana production in this area employing approximately 4000 people (1 worker per 3 hectares) directly. Many more are employed indirectly in the provision of supporting goods and services.
Annual production for the cyclone affected area is approximately 17 million 13kg cartons with production costs estimated at $15 per carton.
General North Queensland Banana Industry information
Total value of industry in affected area $330m Percentage of national industry in affected area 85% Impact on national industry 75% Number of enterprises in affected area 400 Total area under production in hectares 12,500 ha Range of production area in hectares 8 ha to 800 ha Average production unit in hectares 31 ha Production season 12 months Market destinations All capital cities
Peak annual labour requirements (year round) 4000 Average cost of labour expense $5 / carton Average cost of other direct farm inputs and packing $4 / carton Average cost of transport, ripening and marketing $5 / carton Average total cost of production (excluding finance, capital and personal costs) $15 / carton
Banana crop losses in the cyclone affected regions have been estimated as follows:
Region % of crop lost $ value of crop loss
Tully Valley and surrounds 95 percent $121m Innisfail and surrounds 95 percent $167m Atherton Tableland 80 percent $6.4m Kennedy & Murray Upper 50 percent $4m
Combined value of crop losses for all regions $298.4m
The costs associated with the reestablishment or renovation of banana plantations in the cyclone affected regions has been estimated as follows:
Repair Type Cost per hectare No. of total ha for Total replant/renovation replant/renovation costs across all farms
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