Rural delivery: Kiwifruit sector to suffer from beekeepers' scourge

By ROSALIE SMITH

The kiwifruit industry's rollercoaster ride goes on. Every primary producer expects a cycle of good times and bad times, but during their short history kiwifruit growers' highs have been higher and their lows lower than for most other producers.

This season, with the industry reorganised on a commercial basis, a new gold-fleshed variety raising excitement in the markets and profit margins boosted by the low kiwi dollar, it looked set for some good times. But this year brought a double whammy to weigh heavily on growers' profit margins.

First, of all horticulturists, kiwifruit growers will be hardest hit by the appearance of the Varroa mite for their industry is heavily dependent on honey bees to achieve pollination. Without introduced bees on orchards during flowering, small crops of tiny fruit would be unsellable.

Kiwifruit flowers produce pollen but no nectar, making them unattractive to bees. So orchards are flooded with bees during flowering, usually eight hives, or 300,000 bees, to every hectare. Hives are moved into the growing regions every spring from many parts of the North Island in a major logistical exercise. Kiwifruit pollination has become a major part of beekeepers' business.

The cost of a hive has remained constant for more than a decade at about $80, a total industry cost of more than $6.4 million. Growers can expect beekeepers to pass on the increased costs of Varroa control in hive preparation. One estimate is the industry bill will increase by some 40 per cent.

The decision to control rather than eradicate the invader at least means there should be enough hives available for the coming season. Eradication would have meant the immediate destruction of a large number of hives.

The increased cost is probably insignificant compared with other practical issues. Will beekeepers be prepared to move their hives on to orchards and face possible increased Varroa infection risks? Too few pollen grains result in small and misshapen fruit. Will beekeepers be able to prepare hives strong enough to adequately pollinate the flowers? Will enough beekeepers survive to provide hives?

The second cost arises from a decision by Zespri to cease marketing the early variety, Tomua. Its fruit looks enough like the standard green-fleshed Hayward to be marketed under the same brand. It reaches the Hayward maturity benchmark four to six weeks before Hayward. First marketed in 1998, fruit volumes rose to 560,000 trays this year.

Growers who planted Tomua were promised a 50 per cent margin over the Hayward return until 2007. From the first, Tomua's poor keeping qualities posed problems. The fruit broke down in cool storage and customers did not like it. In the meantime, an early start programme has been developed for Hayward fruit picked from selected early orchards eroding the marketing advantage offered by Tomua.

Research work this year has confirmed that until now Tomua fruit has been picked before it has reached maturity. The Hayward benchmark is too low for Tomua, thus reducing even further Tomua's early-harvest advantage. As soon as the research findings confirmed industry fears, Zespri pulled the plug on Tomua.

Only 122 growers out of a total of almost 3000 chose to graft over to Tomua but compensating them for Zespri breaking its contract has been estimated at millions of dollars, and that money can only come from other growers.

An agreement has almost been finalised that this year Zespri will cover the cost of conversion and over the next two years Tomua growers will receive payments to compensate for their loss of income.

While these costs will impact on the grower's bottom line, industry confidence will only be dented. An 81 per cent increase in orchard gate returns since 1997, the warm reception to Zespri Gold fruit in its first year of major sales, Zespri's move to year-round marketing and growing Gold under licence in Northern Hemisphere markets will all help to keep growers optimistic.

* Rosalie Smith is a freelance journalist specialising in horticulture.