Autumn fruits in Australia
March to May. 24 fruits are harvested somewhere in Australia across those three months, and 13 reach their peak.
Autumn is apple and pear season. The main harvest runs from February into May, and a farmers market in March or April is the one time of year you are buying them weeks rather than months after picking.
It is also the season for fruit that only turns up briefly: figs, persimmons, pomegranates and the last of the table grapes. Victoria's small kiwifruit crop is picked in autumn, Queensland's avocado harvest gets going, and red dragon fruit comes in from Queensland.
The southern berries are not finished
Victoria and Tasmania are still picking blueberries into March, and Victorian strawberries run into April, so the berry season does not end with summer.
Autumn fruits list
★ Persimmon- Victoria: April to May
- New South Wales: April to May
- Queensland: March to April
A short autumn season. Fuyu, the crisp non-astringent variety, is the one most growers sell.
★ Pomegranate- South Australia: February to May
- Victoria: March to May
- New South Wales: March to May
A young Australian industry, centred on South Australia's Northern Mallee, with a short fresh season from late summer to autumn.
★ Kiwifruit- Victoria: April to June
- New South Wales: March to April
- Queensland: March to April
Most kiwifruit sold in Australia is imported from New Zealand. The local crop is small, mostly from Victoria, and picked in autumn.
★ Apple- Victoria: February to May
- New South Wales: February to May
- Queensland: February to May
Apples keep for months in cold storage, so they are sold all year. At a farmers market in autumn you are buying them within weeks of picking, which is a different piece of fruit.
★ Nashi pear- Victoria: February to April
- South Australia: February to April
- New South Wales: February to April
A small Australian crop, grown mainly in Victoria's Goulburn Valley and picked in late summer and autumn. More nashi is imported than grown here.
★ Fig- Victoria: February to May
- New South Wales: February to May
- South Australia: January to April
Figs do not travel or keep, which is why they are reliably better at a market than in a supermarket and why the season feels shorter than it is.
★ Lime- Queensland: January to April
Queensland grows most Australian limes, and the crop is heaviest in summer and early autumn.
★ Rockmelon- New South Wales: January to April
Queensland supplies rockmelon in spring and New South Wales in summer. Wet weather in growing districts has caused Christmas shortages in recent years.
★ Blueberry- Victoria: December to April
- Tasmania: December to April
The mid north coast of New South Wales grows most of the country's blueberries and starts picking in winter, well before Victoria and Tasmania pick in summer.
★ Dragon fruit- Northern Territory: September to April
- Queensland: January to June
Up to 80% of dragon fruit sold in Australia is imported. The local season starts with white flesh fruit from the Northern Territory in spring and moves to red flesh fruit from Queensland in autumn.
★ Avocado- Queensland: March to September
Queensland picks through autumn and winter and Western Australia takes over in spring, which is why avocado never quite feels seasonal even though each region's crop is.
★ Strawberry- Victoria: October to April
- South Australia: October to April
The one that surprises people: Queensland grows strawberries through winter, so the southern summer berry and the Queensland winter berry are two different seasons rather than one long one.
★ Pineapple- Queensland: February to November
Queensland picks pineapple for most of the year, with autumn and spring peaks. Summer fruit is noticeably sweeter.
Pear- Victoria: February to May
Victoria's Goulburn Valley grows around 80% of Australian pears. They are picked in late summer and autumn and stored for the rest of the year.
Table grape- Victoria: January to April
- New South Wales: January to April
- Queensland: January to April
Victoria's Sunraysia district grows most of the country's table grapes, from summer into autumn.
Custard apple- Queensland: March to August
Grown only in Queensland and northern New South Wales, from late autumn into winter. Handle gently: the skin bruises and browns easily.
Honeydew melon- New South Wales: January to April
Queensland melons come in spring, Western Australian and Northern Territory crops through the dry season, and New South Wales in summer.
Lemon- Queensland: February to August
Queensland grows the largest share of Australian lemons, with the main crop from late summer through winter.
Raspberry- Tasmania: December to April
Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales pick raspberries in summer, and Queensland grows a winter crop.
Watermelon- Queensland: November to May
Northern melons are a dry season crop, so Kununurra and the Northern Territory pick through the middle of the year while the southern states pick in summer.
Banana- Queensland: All year
- New South Wales: February to November
- Western Australia: All year
Queensland grows over nine in ten Australian bananas and picks them all year. Lady fingers are the smaller, sweeter variety worth looking for from autumn to spring.
Grapefruit- South Australia: April to October
- Victoria: April to September
A winter citrus from the New South Wales Riverina, South Australia's Riverland and Queensland.
Papaya- Queensland: All year
Papaya and pawpaw are grown almost entirely in far north Queensland and picked all year, with the sweetest fruit in spring and early summer.
Passionfruit- Queensland: December to August
Queensland and northern New South Wales grow most Australian passionfruit, from summer into autumn.
★ At its peak in at least one state this season.
Month by month
March
April
What each state picks in autumn
A farmers market only sells what is grown within a drive of it, so the autumn list in Hobart and the one in Brisbane have less in common than you would expect.
- Victoria (11): persimmon, pomegranate, kiwifruit, apple, nashi pear, fig, blueberry, strawberry and more
- New South Wales (10): persimmon, pomegranate, kiwifruit, apple, nashi pear, fig, rockmelon, table grape and more
- Queensland (15): persimmon, kiwifruit, apple, fig, lime, dragon fruit, avocado, pineapple and more
- Western Australia (4): pomegranate, apple, fig, banana
- South Australia (6): pomegranate, apple, nashi pear, fig, strawberry, grapefruit
- Tasmania (3): apple, blueberry, raspberry
- Northern Territory (1): dragon fruit
Where to buy autumn fruits
A farmers market is where autumn produce turns up within a day or two of picking. Every market listing carries its real trading days.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What fruits are in season in autumn in Australia?
- Autumn runs from March to May, and 24 fruits are harvested somewhere in Australia over those months, including persimmons, pomegranates, kiwifruit, apples, nashi pears, figs, limes and rockmelons. What you will find at a market depends on your state.
- Which fruits are at their best in autumn?
- Persimmons, pomegranates, kiwifruit, apples, nashi pears and figs reach their peak in at least one growing state during autumn.
- Do autumn fruits differ between states?
- Yes, often by months. In autumn, limes, dragon fruit, avocados, pineapples and custard apples come mostly from Queensland and the Northern Territory. Pomegranates, nashi pears, rockmelons, blueberries and strawberries come mostly from further south. Your state's in season page lists what is being picked closest to you.
- When does autumn start in Australia?
- Australia uses meteorological seasons, so autumn starts on 1 March and runs to the end of May.
Harvest months from our own research across Australian growing regions and national production figures.