Kiwifruit Growers Largely Escape Cyclone Vaianu Damage
The country's kiwifruit growers seem to have escaped much of the predicted wrath of Cyclone Vaianu which hit the east coast of the North Island this month.
According to New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc’s Colin Bond it has been one of the most financially unrewarding harvests in recent memory due to the low volume produced.
“The kiwifruit industry did relatively well during Covid because we were allowed to continue to operate”, he says. “However, the last two years have been our equivalent to the economic strains experienced by other industries throughout the pandemic – now it’s our turn.”
Bond adds that the raft of problems for growers began with quality in late 2022 and continued into 2023 with poor pollination, wind, flooding, hail and cyclones reducing the crop size.
He says it was originally thought that 160 million trays of kiwifruit would be produced this season, but the final number is more likely to be well under 140 million trays.
This is far below 2022’s 175 million trays.
Bond says the increased costs for growing and exporting kiwifruit makes it particularly painful for growers in seasons of low production.
“Growers are putting even more pressure on Zespri to perform in their markets to get the best possible returns with smaller volumes of kiwifruit,” he explains.
“Despite Zespri reporting that the quality of our kiwifruit going to market is high and the forecast returns looking good so far, NZKGI will continue to track the quality closely over the coming months. The industry has worked collaboratively to reduce quality issues and it is even more critical that this work pays off in a low yield year.”
However, Bond says there is light at the end of the tunnel, with 2024 forecast to be one of the largest ever.
“There will be a huge responsibility on the whole supply chain to perform so that we can deliver this large volume of kiwifruit in great condition to consumers.”
He says planning is already underway across the industry.
“While we can’t control the weather, we must ensure that we get our processes right to increase our chance of success and relieve growers from their financial burdens.”
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New Zealand kiwifruit production is expected to jump from 175 million trays in 2021/22 to 258 million trays in 2030. |
With $2.9 billion of export earnings in 2022, NZ’s kiwifruit industry is an important contributor to the economies where it is grown.
Facts & Figures
- Kiwifruit is New Zealand's largest horticultural export.
- New Zealand kiwifruit production is expected to jump from 175 million trays in 2021/22 to 258 million trays in 2030.
- The kiwifruit industry's New Zealand revenue is expected to jump from $2.87 billion in 2022 to $4.23 billion by 2030.
