There is good news and bad news for lovers of pineapples in the coming weeks, according to fourth-generation Glass House Mountains grower Sam Pike.
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"This year has been like the world is today, completely erratic," he said.
"We've had some of the highest weeks and some of the lowest weeks, up and down like a yo-yo.
"It's been pretty wild."
The good news is for the rest of 2022 and into early 2023 the market will provide smaller but good quality pineapples at reasonable prices.
Looking forward to post-summer 2023, fresh pineapple might be in short supply.
More than a million pineapples are planted each year at Mr Pike's Sandy Creek Pineapple Company property, and he is also Chair of the industry body representing growers, Australian Pineapples.
Mr Pike said the mixed news about the future of the season and into next year, all boils down to recent weather events.
"We've had a trifecta of things pineapples don't like," he said.
"Very little sunny days, lots of rain and we did have quite a cool winter as well.
"Which will mean most of next year's crop will flower out-of-season."
The slow growth of pineapples
Pineapple plants are generally tough, but they take up to two years to flower and fruit, and one bad week can impact the entire seasonal cycle.
Growers are "tight-knit" and work collaboratively to control a consistent year-round supply Mr Pike said, but when weather stress hits and a mass flower bloom occurs, control is lost.
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This could mean an influx of slightly immature, flowering pineapples for a short period of time.
"There is going to be smaller fruit around and a lot of it for a short window, and of course that will come out of the rest of the year's production," Mr Pike said.
"So if people want to grab some pineapples, there is going to be about six or eight weeks from mid-January, where they are going to be cheaper, and fresh.
"That is going to be a good opportunity, because you might not be able to get them for the rest of the year."
Pineapples are mostly grown in Queensland, with the major growing regions including South-East Queensland, the Yeppoon area and North Queensland, including Mareeba and Mossman.
The pineapple is the only edible member of the bromeliad family.
