“I am gobsmacked. I am really struggling with just how bad this is for these guys. This is a real disaster... I’m just not sure people really understand just how bad it is for these people. These people have nothing left.
“I think as a grower, you realise, your deepest sympathy goes out to these guys that have just been dealt a very, very bad blow. And in some cases, it’s recoverable, in other places I’m not sure it is recoverable.”
The risk of E coli contamination was great so they were working through what could be done, and what fruit has to be left, he said.
“But I think you can understand why I don’t want to sort of preempt too much because, of course, we don’t want to take options away from them. We want to make sure that we explore options to be able to harvest fruit in a safe way to relieve some of that pressure from growers,” he said.
Mayston said the variation between properties in the Gisborne area was also startling with one side of the road lightly touched by silt, and the other side of the road a metre deep.
In Hawke’s Bay damage was region-wide he said, with some growers still unable to access their orchards to assess the damage.
In both regions vines will start dying because there has been a long wet period already, he said.
“Somebody said to me the other day they hadn’t worked a five-day week since March ‘22. That gives an indication of how wet it has been over the past 12 months.
“So we are seeing plant deaths in the industry anyway because of how much rain and water has been sitting.
“Plants are starting to yellow off, this just puts them under extreme stress. Some plants won’t recover, it will be re-establishment.”
Zespri directors and NZKGI chief executive and chair were visiting both regions on Tuesday to hold meetings to discuss growers’ options and work out a strategy for recovery and harvest.
- RNZ
