Zespri identifies major lost opportunity for SunGold kiwifruit

Zespri has a 5000ha limit on its overseas growing activities.

Zespri’s grower-owners could soon be called on to rethink the limit they’ve put on offshore production of market favourite SunGold kiwifruit, as the global exporter identified a massive opportunity gap it says could be filled by competitors.

In its latest outlook report, Zespri says by 2033, forecasts indicate there will be 53 million trays of excess target demand for non-New Zealand-grown SunGold, known in the industry as Gold3. The bestselling variety was developed in New Zealand and is said to be the world’s highest-performing kiwifruit.

Zespri said the supply hole is an opportunity for it “to capture more demand and if we don’t, [there’s] a risk that competitors will fill the supply gap”.

Zespri’s main supplier of Gold3 fruit is its New Zealand growers. But the company also contracts Northern Hemisphere orchardists to grow the variety to fill offshore retail shelves with SunGold in the New Zealand off season. However, its New Zealand growers have put a limit of 5000ha on this offshore growing.

A bid by Zespri leaders last year to increase the limit by 10,000ha (excluding Chile and China) was voted down by growers. Zespri, a regulated “single-desk” exporter of all New Zealand kiwifruit except to Australia, is required to get 75 per cent grower support for “non-core” commercial proposals.

“Expansion of our ZGS (Zespri Global Supply) operations will be a discussion for the industry to have over the next two years,” says the new outlook report.

Non-New Zealand Zespri-brand growers are expected to supply about 52 million trays of SunGold and Hayward green fruit by 2028, based on the 5000ha plantings. As of March end this year, Zespri had planted 4502ha of the 5000ha limit. It said it expected to reach the maximum by next year.

“This will leave a significant gap in the market and supply chain which competitors will fill,” the outlook says.

“The current approved hectares leave unfulfilled market demand of Zespri SunGold of 17 million trays by 2028, growing to 53 million trays by 2022.

“The purpose of the 12-month supply is to have high-quality Zespri kiwifruit available to customers all year round.”

The marketer expected the supply of Zespri organic SunGold to increase significantly in the next five years.

Its five-year outlook predicted an increase in total supply of kiwifruit from 133 million trays in the 2023 harvest season to 208 million trays in 2028, equivalent to 156 per cent volume growth.

New Zealand supply of class one conventional SunGold fruit was expected to lift from nearly 90 million trays in 2023 to 145 million trays supplied in 2028.

Zespri’s total global sales of kiwifruit in FY23 was close to $4 billion.

Andrea Fox joined the Herald as a senior business journalist in 2018, and specialises in writing about the dairy industry, agribusiness, exporting and the logistics sector and supply chains.