Zespri International reported strong interest in a bidding round for 400 hectares of new Gold3 or SunGold variety kiwifruit licences and said its shares will resume trading on Friday.
The kiwifruit marketer said it received 938 bids of which 235 were successful, and will reap $98 million of revenue from the allocation, excluding GST. The average size of the successful bids was 1.7 hectares. The SunGold variety has proven popular as it is more resistant to the Pseudomonas syringae pv actinadiae bacteria, better known as PSA, which decimated the industry some six years ago. By the end of June 2012, more than 35 percent of New Zealand kiwifruit orchards were infected. SunGold, first commercialised in 2010, was key to the sector's recovery.
The median price including GST was $270,250, and the minimum accepted price was $254,150. Zespri said it will update its shareholders on the impact of the licence revenue when it provides a forecast profit range for the 2017/18 year after its April board meeting.
Late last year Zespri announced it will sell licences for another 400 hectares of the SunGold variety this year, with a further 400ha to be released in 2018, 2019 and 2020 subject to the product's performance and global demand.
Earlier this month Zespri forecast it would pay $8.75-to-$9.75 per tray, or $105,000-to-$120,000 per hectare for Zespri Gold in the 2017/18 season compared to $5.15-to-$6.15 per tray or $47,500-to-$57,500 per hectare for Zespri Green.
