Northland blueberry growers celebrate 60% production boost

Northland is experiencing a rapid increase in blueberry production. Photo / 123RF

Northland’s blueberry growers are celebrating a bumper season as production soars to nearly 300 tonnes - a 60% increase from last year’s 180 tonnes.

The region’s success is part of a nationwide boom in the industry that looks set to expand in coming years.

Patrick Malley, director of Northland’s largest packhouse, Maungatapere Packing Limited (MPL), said while Northland was not one of the primary growing regions for blueberries, it was experiencing a rapid increase in production that mainly focused on meeting the demand of New Zealand consumers in the early part of the season.

Northland also produced a summer crop of berries, about 90% of which were sent to Australia, Malley said.

He believed Northland had contributed about 10% of the overall national crop this season, which industry organisation Blueberries NZ (BBNZ) chair Kelvin Bezuidenhout estimated to be about 4000 tonnes.

Malley said this year’s great result was down to excellent growing conditions and the success of low-chill cultivars that thrived in Northland’s unique climate.

Growers could finally breathe a sigh of relief after several challenging years - especially the past two seasons, when the weather had been notably unfavourable.

Consumers love the health-giving properties of blueberries.

Malley would not be drawn on any new developments for the packhouse, which opened in 2021 to help the industry in Northland expand.

However, there were “a lot of exciting things happening in horticulture in the region generally at the moment”.

“There’s a lot of expansion happening in blueberries and other similar food types.”

A new market had opened in South Korea and there were other market opportunities throughout Southeast Asia, he said, especially as the health-giving properties of the fruit were increasingly recognised.

“There’s been a lot of investment in water storage projects recently and we’ve been really lucky to get government support through the Provincial Growth Fund.

“It’s important to get those critical storage projects in place because there are some fantastic soils up here but, without reliable access to water, they’ll remain soil as opposed to crops.”

Although it might not be visible yet, Malley said a lot of work was being done behind the scenes to set areas up for future production.

There are about 100 commercial blueberry growers in New Zealand, with the crop mainly grown in Waikato and Hawke’s Bay, with some in Northland, Wellington and Nelson.

According to Bezuidenhout, New Zealand produced about 4000 tonnes of the berries in 2023-24 on about 1000 hectares.

He said winter and spring last year were warm and dry, resulting in an early harvest, and there had been a steady volume and price for local fruit.

Exports to Australia were good, which gave the sector added buoyancy at a time when there was talk of increased plantings. With the Korean market opening up, more volume would be needed and there had been inquiries from people looking to enter the industry.

“I think it’s seen as a good opportunity to make good use of land. So certainly, overall, I think blueberry volumes will continue to increase.”

Sarah Curtis is a general news reporter for the Northern Advocate. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference, especially those involving environmental issues.