Gold for kiwifruit as vines reach maturity

Zespri grower and government relations general manager Dave Courtney says the company is still looking at the second largest crop in its history despite lower green volumes.

Green kiwifruit volumes will drop from 90 million trays to 70 million trays this season, but gold volumes are expected to climb as more vines reach maturity.

Zespri grower and government relations general manager Dave Courtney says it is still looking at the second-largest crop in its history and the 2017 season was looking great.

"All indications are that the fruit is sizing well on the vines as we head towards harvest, with taste levels tracking well. Each season is different and climatic factors affect volumes differently each year but long-term, our strong total volume growth will continue as SunGold volumes increase to meet consumer demand around the world."

The first harvest of SunGold and Green is normally around mid-March in New Zealand and rolls out over several months, he says.

"Fruit maturity is affected by seasonal weather conditions and growers can only harvest their orchards once the fruit has reached the required levels of maturity and taste (brix and dry matter).

"These stringent quality controls underpin Zespri's premium offering to our consumers around the world."

Figures show about 45 million trays of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, 90 million trays of Zespri Green and around 3.5 million trays of organic sold around the world.

"We continue to invest in increasing our Northern Hemisphere production to deliver premium quality, tasty, healthy Zespri Kiwifruit all year round to our customers. Having our product and brand on shop shelves 12 months a year keeps us top of mind for consumers and we're on track to deliver sales of around 11 million trays of Green and around 4.5 million trays of gold for the 2016 season."

By the numbers:

Zespri February 2017 forecast
Zespri Green $53,348 per ha - $4.35 per tray
Zespri Organic Green $53,470 per ha - $6.75 per tray
Zespri Gold $97,405 per ha - $8.52 per tray
Zespri Green14 $45,049 per ha - $5.69 per tray

Orchard Gate Return 2015/16
Green $5.13
Gold $8.21
Organic $7.18

Orchard Gate Return 2014/15
Green $6.01
Gold $9.80
Organic $7.37