The face of fruit growing in Nelson

The face of fruit growing is changing in Nelson as growers become more efficient, orchards consolidate and some are lost to other ventures, say industry representatives.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry policy analyst Dennis Crone said figures showed there were 3000ha of land planted in apples in the Nelson-Tasman region in 2002, down about 11 per cent on 1994.

Enza South Island general manager Murray Malone said the amount of fruit produced for export in the Nelson-Marlborough region had also dropped.

The drop was also a result of a lot of orchards being bulldozed by developers on the coastal belt of land between Nelson and Motueka, he said.

Pipfruit Growers' Nelson spokesman, Ian Palmer, said there had been a decline in the total area of land planted in fruit but a lot of orchards had increased productivity through new growing methods.

The Nelson-Marlborough director of the Fruit Growers Federation, Richard Kempthorne, said the bigger operators had been buying orchards from smaller operators as they looked to get out of the industry.