Kiwifruit record: Zespri achieves $5b sales milestone, 220 million trays sold

Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake.

Zespri’s global sales topped $5 billion in the 2024-25 season, exceeding a growth target set 10 years ago, the grower-owned kiwifruit marketer says.

The goal, set in 2015, was to achieve sales of $4.5b by this year.

Zespri sold a record 220.9 million trays of kiwifruit in 2024-25, up from 164.2m in 2023-24.

Direct returns to the New Zealand industry reached more than $3b for the first time.

Zespri’s net profit after tax was $155.2m, down from $173.3m in 2023-24, mainly driven by reduced licence revenue from a reduction in available hectares.

Excluding licence revenue, the company’s net corporate profit was a record $79.8m, up from $20.4m in 2023-24.

Chief executive Jason Te Brake said the result reflected an industry-wide effort to deliver a record crop and strong sales in key markets.

“We’ve increased both volume and value in our key markets despite downward pressure in the category and surpassed a significant milestone in reaching $5b in global fruit sales, exceeding our longstanding sales goal set a decade ago.

“At a per-hectare level, returns are up and at record levels for Green, Organic Green and Sweet Green off the back of the season’s improved yields following a challenging few years for growers and we’ve been able to return strong value at a per-tray level for all categories in a record crop year, with final average per-tray returns above our February forecast.”

Zespri said its net profit excluding licence revenue reached a record $79.8m.

The New Zealand supply segment delivered a profit of $56.4m in 2024-25, up from the $10.2m loss in 2023-24 on the back of a larger crop, strong value in-market and a focus on greater overhead efficiencies.

The non-New Zealand supply sales also performed well, hitting $652.4m.

Looking ahead, 2025-26 season sales had started well, particularly in Europe and the US.

Zespri, based in Mount Maunganui, had also made a strong start in Asia, despite generally softer market conditions, it said.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.