Sixteen RSE workers from Vanuatu packed windfall fruit from Eddie Biesiek's orchard for charity and foodbank donations. Photo / Eddie Biesiek
The Bay of Plenty avocado industry has banded together after “devastating” winds hit more than 400 orchards, with some losing 90% of their fruit.
Growers are working with New Zealand Avocado and the New Zealand Food Network to recover and distribute tonnes of windfall fruit to charities across the region.
Strong winds blew through last weekend, disrupting the avocado harvest.
Katikati grower Eddie Biesiek said the winds “completely uprooted” shelter trees and some mature avocado trees.
“Two days of continuous, devastating wind have resulted in about 60% of our crop forming a carpet of literally tonnes of avocados on the floor of the orchard.”
He said one orchard that packed fruit before and after the storm experienced a drop in the export pack-out from 85% to 65%.
“Fruit is unable to be marketed once it is on the ground - it must be picked from the tree.
“Our initial knee-jerk reaction was to mow the fallen fruit so that we weren’t being reminded of our loss, but when NZ Avocado suggested offering the fruit to NZ Food Network for donations, and we realised someone could benefit, we got on board.”
One bin of their windfall fruit holds about 300kg.
Sixteen RSE workers from Vanuatu, who usually work in kiwifruit orchards, filled 26 more bins on Tuesday, making a total of 10 tonnes of fruit destined for local charities.
“Many people have offered their services to enable something good to come from a bad situation,” said Biesiek.
Alistair Young, chairman of the New Zealand Avocado Growers Association (NZAGA) and an orchardist, said that the area between Athenree and Ōmokoroa, north of Tauranga, experienced the heaviest losses.
He said the peninsulas were exposed to southwesterly winds.
“The winds tend to come in gusts, so the branches sort of crack like a whip. That’s how the fruit comes off pretty quickly.”
The avocado industry had submitted an ongoing impact assessment report to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to see if further support could be available, Young said.
“The industry is collating the amount of damage to growers, which growers are affected by what percentage, and we’re supplying that information to MPI. We have no ability at this stage to report on any outcomes from that.”
New Zealand Avocado chief executive Brad Siebert said each orchard was affected differently, but some growers had lost more than 90% of their fruit.
“Growers are taking immediate action to work with their supply chain partners, assessing the quantum of fruit loss and determining harvest strategy and timing for remaining fruit on the trees.”
More than 400 orchards covering 900 hectares within the Bay of Plenty had been affected by recent weather events, Siebert said.
“The early season’s 2025-26 crop estimate was just over 6 million trays, split 60/40 between export and local market.
“While this is around 1 million trays down from previous seasons, packouts continue to improve, and we are yet to fully quantify how recent weather events have impacted the national crop volume.”
He said there would be an impact on fruit volumes out of the Western Bay of Plenty, but this would sit in the context of the national crop.
Stringent and mandatory industry systems ensure that the fruit harvested meets New Zealand standards.
Consumers would continue to see “exceptional” fruit quality.
“As we start to pack fruit following the event, we will likely see an increased percentage of fruit downgraded away from export due to superficial wind damage.”
Gavin Findlay is chief executive of the NZ Food Network, a non-profit dedicated to sharing food donations with communities in need.
He said he made contact with Siebert last weekend and began work on the ground on Monday.
“We’ve rescued about 85 bins of fruit in the Bay of Plenty from four orchards in and around the Katikati area.
“There’s a fair bit of work between organising labour to go and collect fruit, organising transport, organising on-site machinery, the collection itself, and the consolidation of the bins at the end of the pick.”
NZ Food Network partnered with Team Global Express to transport fruit to charities, which include Good Neighbour and Feeding Rotorua.
“Avocados are a superfood,” Findlay said. “At times, there’s a bit of a cost to them, so sometimes the communities we work with wouldn’t necessarily purchase avocados.
“So it’s great to get them exposed to a good-quality and nutritious product.”
Bijou Johnson is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. A passionate writer and reader, she grew up in Tauranga and developed a love for journalism while exploring various disciplines at university. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies from Massey University.