Zespri has increased the area to be planted in one of its two new gold kiwifruit varieties by 50ha after 481 bids for 970ha were received in the tender process which has just been announced. Zespri chief executive Lain Jager said market demand for the variety called Gold9 supported the increase. "Ourmarket demand forecast supports the release of 200ha of each variety, and in some cases it was stronger," said Mr Jager. "The Evaluation Panel advised Zespri of the oversubscription for Gold9, and we decided to increase available hectares to 250ha. "We believe this is manageable from a market perspective, and enables all interested growers to participate in this year's commercial release." The second new gold - Gold3 - was also oversubscribed, with 244 bids for 509ha when the allocation was for 200ha. However, interest was not so strong for the new sweet green variety, which also had an allocation of 200ha. Only 72 bids were received for 104ha. Now all Green14 bidders who asked to be informed if the variety was undersubscribed are being contacted to see if they are interested in obtaining additional hectares. Mr Jager said that Zespri expected substantial opportunities would exist for growers to participate in new varieties with Zespri in the next few years. "This initial commercial release of three new cultivars is conservative and reflects the need to manage risk effectively as the industry learns more about the varieties over successive seasons. "Zespri will progressively release licences over the coming years to match demand as the varieties perform in the market, through the supply chain and on the orchard." Growers will receive their legal documentation this week and once bidders have signed and paid, they can then collect their budwood and start planting or grafting.
