Te Brake said the drop in the 2023 crop was largely being driven by lower volumes of green fruit, with bad weather during the critical pollination period expected to reduce yields by 15 million trays.
Te Brake said 2022 had been challenging. It had also been a tough start to 2023, given the adverse weather events including Cyclone Gabrielle’s impact on Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.
Despite these difficulties, lower fruit volumes and better availability of labour this season would allow the industry to focus on improving fruit quality and generating better returns for orchardists, he said.
“The industry’s Quality Action Plan was launched in October last year and has seen significant collaboration throughout the entire industry to ensure we deliver great quality fruit for our customers and consumers in the 2023 season, as well as in the years ahead,” Te Brake said.
“That starts with ensuring that we’re doing everything we can to have a great harvest and looking after the fruit throughout the supply chain.”
Te Brake said the plan included optimising Zespri’s shipping programme to ensure it was delivering consistently good quality fruit to consumers in offshore markets.
“While Covid-19 caused significant shipping disruption in recent years, we’re expecting a more stable shipping environment this season, with better transit times delivering fruit to markets.
“With our first charter vessel now on the way to market, we’re looking forward to our shipping programme ramping up in the weeks ahead,” Te Brake said.
- RNZ
