Avocado growers in the western Bay of Plenty are facing a $250,000 loss after last week's gales dumped their fruit on the ground.
Estimates of the fruit loss range from 20,000 to 30,000 trays out of the 500,000 to 600,000 5.5kg trays of avocados destined for Australian markets.
Avocado Growers Association president
John White said that across the industry the amount of fruit lost was not too serious.
"But individual growers have lost up to half their crop, and there has been a lot of tree damage in some areas," Mr White said.
Team Horticulture production and operations manager Stuart Oates and Apata Centrepac avocado manager Jack Crozier said growers at Ongare Pt, Kauri Pt and Te Puna were the hardest hit.
The fruit loss depended on which way the orchards faced and how well they were protected.
Financial losses varied, but neither man had heard of anyone who would leave the industry because of fruit loss.
Most large avocado growers had picked at least once for the US markets before the winds, and 40 to 50 per cent of their crop would have been off the trees, Mr Oates said.
Many smaller growers had outside incomes that offered a cushion against the fruit loss, Mr Crozier said.
Avocado processors and oil makers were moving in to buy up wind-damaged fruit.
- NZPA
