Heavy rain takes the shine off T&G’s Envy apples, sees loss

Heavy rain hit T&G's crop of "Envy" applies, which may lead the company to a loss. Photo / Supplied

T&G Global said a poor apple harvest will probably drive it to a loss of between $1 million and $5m in the current financial year to December 31.

Last year’s net profit after tax came to $13.6m.

T&G, formerly Turners and Growers, said the loss would be down to two key factors - apple quality and its trading performance in the Northern Hemisphere.

“There has been a rapid deterioration in the quality of T&G’s premium New Zealand ‘Envy’ apples, particularly those apples exposed to the unusually heavy rains during the 2022 harvest,” the company said.

“This, combined with the late arrival of fruit into markets as a result of global supply chain disruptions, has unfortunately resulted in crop quality issues, with fruit rapidly deteriorating and consumers having an inconsistent eating experience,” it said.

As a result, inventories were higher at this stage of the year than normal, resulting in provisioning for fruit losses.

The company said its northern hemisphere operations, particularly in Europe and the United Kingdom, have reduced their forecasts due to worsening economic conditions in their respective markets.

The revised forecast also includes the impact of a number of projected one-off items, including property disposal and the costs of exiting the company’s Peru grape farming operation.

Last year, the company was hit by hailstorms, Covid-driven border closures and labour shortages, and supply chain disruptions.