New Zealand kiwifruit harvest kicks off
New Zealand’s 2025 kiwifruit harvest has started with the first fruit picked in the Bay of Plenty, marking the earliest ever harvest.
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporation (NZKGI) says there is a need to get a range of government policy settings right for the sector to expand.
Chief executive Colin Bond says the good news on this front is the positive attitude to change as articulated by the new coalition Government.
He says he's had talks with Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Nicola Grigg, the Associate Minister of Agriculture with special responsibility for horticulture.
Bond says the kiwifruit industry has a product the world wants, and the challenge is being able to meet that demand. He says that means getting settings right around infrastructure, be that ports, roading access to water, labour, agri chemicals and land use.
"These are important policy settings we need to get right so that we can optimise the opportunity, not just for kiwifruit but also the wider economy.
"We are finding the current government very receptive to our thoughts and listening to us, with the result we think there is a strong alignment of goals," he says.
Bond says the kiwifruit sector has a product for which there is global demand and which can expand, and the coalition Government has an aspiration to grow exports. He says the two goals fit hand in glove; the challenge now is to remove barriers to fast growth.
The appointment of Grigg as the Minister of Horticulture has gone down well with NZKGI and Bond says they see this as recognition of the role that horticulture plays now, and what it can do in the future.
"The appointment of Minister Grigg is a reflection of the opportunity that horticulture offers to the NZ economy," he says.
Climate change is an issue Bond says grower members are tuned into. He says there is increasing awareness of changing climate, and growers are looking for solutions, such as different cultivars or growing in different regions. He says moving to grow in new regions may sound easy, but there are significant issues which make this difficult.
He says the big one is getting sufficient orchards in a region to justify the cost of expensive post-harvest facilities.
"This is an area for discussion but quite difficult to achieve without significant investment," he says.
The 2025 game bird season is underway with Hawke’s Bay and Southland reporting the ideal weather conditions for hunters – rain and wind.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
New Zealand’s top cheeses for 2025 have been announced and family-owned, Oamaru-based Whitestone Cheese is the big winner.
Waikato farmer, and Owl Farm demonstration manager, Jo Sheridan is the 2025 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr believes the outlook for the dairy sector remains strong.
Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) awards.
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…
OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.