Editorial: Grower hopes high with G3

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers president Neil Trebilco and the Gold 3 variety that holds so much promise. Photo/George Novak

What a turnaround.

Confidence is soaring among kiwifruit growers barely three-and-a-half years after the vine-killing disease Psa began spreading gloom through Te Puke orchards, devastating the high-value but susceptible variety known as Zespri Gold.

As we reported in the Bay of Plenty Times this week, the optimism generated by G3 variety of kiwifruit has translated into prices for orchards doubling in the space of 12 months, with buyers queuing up to buy quality properties.

"I can only imagine how difficult it was for growers to cut out their vines as the disease spread from orchard to orchard."

More than 4000ha of G3 had been grafted or planted, with the Hort 16A gold variety crippled by Psa now virtually gone from Te Puke orchards.

It says something about the resilience of the industry that it has managed to bounce back so strongly after Psa began ravaging vines and the sector faced loses of an estimated $200 million.

I can only imagine how difficult it was for growers to cut out their vines as the disease spread from orchard to orchard at an alarming rate.

While the success of the G3 crop is creating optimism, it does not change the fact that the industry will never be the same. Without good management, G3 could also fall victim to Psa.

The kiwifruit industry accounts for about 25 per cent of the Bay's gross domestic product (GDP). Zespri is a $5 billion business contributing $2 billion to New Zealand's GDP and has directly or indirectly employed more than 26,000 people.

Given this, it's important that it finds its way back from the bleakest days of the Psa disaster.
The Bay economy can only benefit from the industry's renewed confidence.