Kiwifruit gold rush under way in Bay

By Carly Udy
Shirley Goldsworthy knows the value of the perfect kiwifruit.
And it has to be perfect - not a mark, not a pin-prick, no discolouring, no odd shape.
So that means her eyes rarely leave the conveyer belt which the sweet fruit fall off.
The 71-year-old Mount Maunganui woman is one of 130 staff at Trevelyan's Pack and Cool Ltd who are preparing gold kiwifruit for Japan - kiwifruit's premium market.
Operations manager James Trevelyan said: "In Japan when you go out for dinner or go to parties you bring fruit, where as here, we would bring wine.
"They are our premium market. They are a very sophisticated consumer and demand the best, and will pay the best for the premium product."
Packing of top-quality kiwifruit is now under way at Trevelyan's and the company expects to pack 5.2 million trays (with each box weighing 3.5kg) this year - a million trays more than 2006.
Last week, Trevelyan's was getting through 70,000 trays of gold fruit from Havelock North, sharing the task with Apata's Tauranga packhouse, which is also packing for the same client.
Of Trevelyan's fruit, 20,000 trays are being packed during the day shift and another 20,000 at night. Night shifts started last Friday.
Fruit to Japan goes straight to the supermarkets, where it's bought by wealthy and health-conscious "mums and dads".
The precious fruit from Havelock North started life on the vines under the Hawke's Bay sun before being picked, trucked to Te Puke, packed, then conditioned for four weeks at 5C.
After that Trevelyan's staff check it for colour and if the fruit is up to spec, Zespri staff will check it before the produce is shipped overseas.
On arrival, fruit will be checked by Zespri again, and if it's up to standard, sold and eaten in exchange for a premium price.
Sally Gardiner, in charge of strategy and development at Te Puke-based Seeka, said the organisation started packing gold kiwifruit on Thursday at Rangiuru.
Satara general manager Murray Gough said packing had not started yet but was expected to get under way in a week.
Business development manager at EastPack Ltd in Te Puke, Matt Hill, said EastPack had received fruit and would start packing at the weekend.
Melanie Palmer, Zespri grower communications manager, said as of 8am today, 510,000 trays of gold kiwifruit had been packed, with an estimated 93 million trays expected to be packed in total. This compares with 79 million last season.
Hawke's Bay and Gisborne were the first regions to begin picking the gold variety and the Western Bay will follow sometime this week. The first export ship, Asian Lavender, will leave Tauranga on April 2.