This season has been Griffith citrus grower Vito Mancini's worst in 40 years.
The wet conditions have resulted in most of his oranges not meeting supermarket specifications and he has dumped 300 tonnes of his crop so far.
With food prices rising in the supermarkets and interest rates affecting consumers, demand is also in decline — but the main problems are the cost of picking and ongoing difficulties with sea freight.
For growers like Mr Mancini it makes more financial sense to dump fruit than pay people to pick it.
"I've done probably 300 tonnes plus, not including the blocks I haven't even harvested," he said.
"We've picked maybe five or 10 per cent to see if we can make it work in the market and lost lots of money doing it."
Export problems
Quality issues are not the only thing affecting exports.
There are still problems with sea freight caused by a shortage of containers and global delays in shipping around the world.
Nathan Hancock from Citrus Australia said demand was strong in Asian markets, but growers have had enormous problems getting fruit onto ships during the pandemic because ships had been sailing past Australian ports.
"In Adelaide they've had 95 per cent of their ships not calling in and there've been significant impacts in Melbourne and Sydney," he said.
That is a massive problem for growers who have fresh product being held at the ports in refrigerated containers, waiting for a ship.
Farmers weigh future
It has been a tough couple of years during the pandemic, but Mr Hancock said good times would return.
Backpackers are heading back to work in the fields and there are signs that freight costs will come down next year.
"We've had this unexpected and life-changing effect from the pandemic," he said.
"But many of the things that impact us are temporary … so we're looking forward to another positive 10 years after this blip."
But that may come too late for some.
Mr Mancini said there were growers considering giving the game away.
"To set up an orchard is an eight-year process and to kiss that goodbye to all that overnight is really hard," he said.
"They love the dirt under their fingernails, they love being able to grow a product and give it to consumers to enjoy.
"But when you've got Mother Nature and economic issues against you, it does make it a real hard time for them."
