Apple quality ‘OK’ despite bad weather

TOP OF THE TREE: Pilitati Seti at Kaiaponi Farms orchard yesterday, picking apples destined for markets in Asia. The harvest started in early February with early varieties Poppi and Royal Gala, and will continue into late April. Story, Picture by Liam Clayton

APPLES from Gisborne have been hitting international markets since February.

About 30 percent of the crop has been picked to date, and local industry sources say the quality has been “OK” , despite the weather.

T&G Global reported this week that high-quality apples have been exported to consumers and customers in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand.

It started with early varieties Poppi and Royal Gala, followed by Pacific Queen and followed by T&G’s premium Jazz™ and Envy™ brands, from orchards in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, Nelson and Central Otago.

Kaiaponi Farms general manager Scott Wilson said the harvest started here in early February, with the first fruit packed on February 7.

“We’ve now completed the early mid-season varieties like Gala, Dazzle and Jazz™ and now we’re starting to pick the Envy™ variety, which makes up about 60 percent of the total crop.”

 Mr Wilson said the Envy™ harvest would continue into late April with packing continuing on to July with apples out of the coolstore.

“Crop quality has been OK so far, but overall volume is up 40 percent at Kaiaponi due to increased planted area in Gisborne.

“We would describe this as a normal season — not exceptional in terms of crop quality,” he said.

“The weather has had an impact and the reject rates are slightly higher than we would have preferred.”

Mr Wilson said all the apples exported from here so far have left for overseas markets out of the Port of Tauranga.

“Transport has been our biggest issue this season, due to the damage to State Highway 2 south to the Port of Napier.

 “For the Envy™ variety, we will look at utilising the temporary coastal container trade that’s been put in place between Eastland Port and Napier.”

Craig Betty, T&G’s director of operations, said despite Cyclone Gabrielle significantly impacting parts of the North Island in February, “there is a great crop of fruit on the trees”.

“While some orchards in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne were affected, there are orchards in those areas which were completely untouched — and the fruit we’ve already harvested and shipped to our customers in Asia looks great.

“With the balance of our crop due to be harvested throughout March and April, we look forward to seeing our premium brands continue to develop good colour and size over the coming weeks,” Mr Betty said.

“The cyclone completely bypassed the South Island, and following a hot summer we’re seeing some nice ripening and colour on our Jazz™ and Envy™ brand apples down there.”