Apollo apple mission watched closely

The first Hastings-grown fruit from Apollo Apples has arrived in markets in Australia.

Director Bruce Beaton said the shipment had cleared quarantine hurdles and was on the market in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

"We've very pleased to finally get to this point," he said. "There's been a lot of hurdles to get through."

Mr Beaton said he was in Australia to find out how the apples were received and would assess the next steps from there.

"We'll be assessing that over the next two or three days and then we'll go back and work out what to send next."

New Zealand apples growers are reaching Australia for the first time in more than 90 years after a ban ended.