Zespri hits major milestone
Kiwifruit marketer Zespri says its kiwifruit has now reached more than 100 million households globally.
New Zealand’s 2025 kiwifruit harvest has started with the first fruit picked in the Bay of Plenty, marking the earliest ever harvest.
Growers Mark and Josie Ruiter and their Orchard Manager Sarah Davidson were excited to be the first in New Zealand to have the kiwifruit on their orchard picked this year.
The growers' kiwifruit were of the red variety. Zespri’s sweet, berry-tinged tasting RubyRedTM is the first variety which is picked for supermarket shelves in New Zealand and some overseas markets, followed shortly after by the Gold and Green varieties.
The excitement of this season’s kiwifruit is being shared by most of New Zealand’s growers who are experiencing ideal growing conditions to produce plenty of high-quality fruit. Current analysis forecasts an industry milestone could be reached this year with a record crop of just over 200 million trays of kiwifruit to be harvested over the coming months. This would be a modest increase from last year’s record-breaking season of more than 190 million trays. On average, each tray has around 30 pieces of kiwifruit. The harvest traditionally peaks in mid-April and runs through until June.
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. chief executive Colin Bond shares grower’s enthusiasm about the current season.
“While my thoughts are with those Tasman and Whakatane growers who received significant hail damage at the end of last December, overall, growers have experienced a great lead up to harvest with ideal sun and little wind to produce excellent kiwifruit”, says Bond.
“Over the last few years our industry has been working collaboratively to ensure our supply chain is robust to export increased volumes and deliver our high quality fruit to consumers around the world.”
Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake says it’s fantastic to see harvest get underway following a largely positive growing season.
“I’m excited about the upcoming season, with another record-breaking crop with moderate increases in SunGold and Green kiwifruit volumes, and Zespri RubyRedTM Kiwifruit doubling in volume," Te Brake says.
"Demand for our fruit remains strong and we’re focused on delivering high-quality fruit early and consistently throughout the season to maximise returns for our growers," he says.
“Our customers and teams in the market have come off a strong 2024 season, are looking for more of our fruit, and are ready to begin sales strongly in the coming months.”
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Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
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New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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