Flood damage in Gayndah, Mundubbera, and the surrounding fruit orchards has caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage, according to Judy Shepherd, the secretary of the Gayndah and District Fruit Growers Association.
She told ABC television that the impact on the region, particularly Gayndah and Mundubbera, would be severe and long-lasting. The latest flood is the third natural disaster to affect the area in recent years and Shepherd said she's afraid many growers won't recover.
Some of the citrus orchards have been completely wiped out, parts of others have simply dropped into the Burnett River and the infrastructure damage was enormous.
"We've heard of some that have gone," Shepherd said. "Catastrophic — hundreds of millions of dollars damage just in the citrus industry.
"We're really in dire straits."
She said growers wanted some acknowledgement of the value of their businesses to the region and to the state.
"Mining is not going to last forever,” she said. “[But] we're going to be here — hopefully we're going to be here, but it's getting slimmer and slimmer chances all the time."
Chief executive of Citrus Australia Judith Damiani said there may be a shortage of Australian lemons in supermarkets for the start of the season in February. About 50 per cent of Australia's lemons and 60 per cent of mandarins are produced in the Burnett region.
Supermarkets are stocking United States lemons and Damiani has asked the supermarkets not to order more and instead wait for home grown produce.
"We're just asking consumers to bear with us," she told reporters. "There may just be a slight delay ... once they're available,[but] it's important people go and support Australian farmers."
