Wednesday, 11 October 2023 10:55

Zespri's big Northern Hemisphere harvest

Written by  Staff Reporters
Zespri is expecting just over 100,000 tonnes of kiwifruit from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea and Japan. Zespri is expecting just over 100,000 tonnes of kiwifruit from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea and Japan.

Zespri's kiwifruit harvest from its Northern Hemisphere growers is set to exceed previous crops.

Zespri’s Nick Kirton says the company’s Northern Hemisphere sales programme has just commenced with it expecting to sell around 29 million trays. This amounts to just over 100,000 tonnes of kiwifruit from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea and Japan. He says this compares with 24 million trays or 88,000 tonnes sold last season.

“This season’s harvest will be our biggest yet and we’re looking forward to providing consumers with more high-quality and great-tasting kiwifruit as we transition from NZgrown fruit to our Northern Hemisphere-grown fruit.”

For more than 20 years, Zespri has built up a cohort of around 1500 growers and suppliers in the northern hemisphere to complement the fruit grown in NZ. This enables Zespri to have kiwifruit on supermarket shelves for 12 months of the year.

Kirton says this season’s Green sales volumes are expected to remain steady compared with last year, while SunGold Kiwifruit sales are projected to increase by 25%, reflecting improved growing conditions, increased yields and new production.

He notes that this season’s strong harvest was even more pleasing given the challenges faced by growers in both Europe and Asia last year. Kirton says that following a season review, Zespri initiated action plans across all Northern Hemisphere regions to address the issues of last season to focus on outcomes that would lift returns for growers.

He says this included on-orchard and supply chain improvements and working closely with market teams to achieve the best outcome for growers.

“Last year was a particularly tough season for our growers in Europe and Asia, with sustained extreme heat and weather events impacting fruit size, yield and quality. It is fantastic to see the orchards rebound this year.”

Zespri expects its Northern Hemisphere supply programme will continue to grow and to double in volume by 2030.

More like this

Positive first year for ZAG fund

As it enters its second year, Zespri says the first year of the Zespri Innovation Fund (ZAG), has been “really positive”.

Export prices set to remain elevated

Horticultural prices are set to remain elevated this year, reflecting the balance between demand in key export markets and an increase in supply.

Featured

NZ household food waste falls again

Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

DairyNZ plantain trials cut nitrate leaching by 26%

DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter