Thursday, 13 February 2025 15:19

New Zealand kiwifruit harvest kicks off

Written by  Staff Reporters
Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake. Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake.

New Zealand’s 2025 kiwifruit harvest has started with the first fruit picked in the Bay of Plenty, marking the earliest ever harvest.

Growers Mark and Josie Ruiter and their Orchard Manager Sarah Davidson were excited to be the first in New Zealand to have the kiwifruit on their orchard picked this year.

The growers' kiwifruit were of the red variety. Zespri’s sweet, berry-tinged tasting RubyRedTM is the first variety which is picked for supermarket shelves in New Zealand and some overseas markets, followed shortly after by the Gold and Green varieties.

The excitement of this season’s kiwifruit is being shared by most of New Zealand’s growers who are experiencing ideal growing conditions to produce plenty of high-quality fruit. Current analysis forecasts an industry milestone could be reached this year with a record crop of just over 200 million trays of kiwifruit to be harvested over the coming months. This would be a modest increase from last year’s record-breaking season of more than 190 million trays. On average, each tray has around 30 pieces of kiwifruit. The harvest traditionally peaks in mid-April and runs through until June.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. chief executive Colin Bond shares grower’s enthusiasm about the current season.

“While my thoughts are with those Tasman and Whakatane growers who received significant hail damage at the end of last December, overall, growers have experienced a great lead up to harvest with ideal sun and little wind to produce excellent kiwifruit”, says Bond.

“Over the last few years our industry has been working collaboratively to ensure our supply chain is robust to export increased volumes and deliver our high quality fruit to consumers around the world.”

Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake says it’s fantastic to see harvest get underway following a largely positive growing season.

“I’m excited about the upcoming season, with another record-breaking crop with moderate increases in SunGold and Green kiwifruit volumes, and Zespri RubyRedTM Kiwifruit doubling in volume," Te Brake says.

"Demand for our fruit remains strong and we’re focused on delivering high-quality fruit early and consistently throughout the season to maximise returns for our growers," he says.

“Our customers and teams in the market have come off a strong 2024 season, are looking for more of our fruit, and are ready to begin sales strongly in the coming months.”

More like this

Featured

East Coast Expo delivers two action-packed days of events

The recent East Coast Farming Expo, held over two days at Wairoa, offered an insight into the current state of agriculture on the east of the North Island, at a time when the locals are remembering the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Sensors may aid early detection

A Research programme supported by Beef+Lamb NZ is investigating the potential of ‘accelerometer’ sensors for early detection of conditions such as facial eczema (FE) in sheep.

National

New Summerfruit NZ CEO

Dean Smith has been in the role of CEO of Summerfruit NZ for about four months, having succeeded Kate Hellstrom…

Machinery & Products

Ecorobotix announces NZ dealership

Swiss-based Ecorobotix has announced its entry into the New Zealand market through a strategic partnership with Canterbury-based New Zealand Tractors.

Sorting unwashed potatoes made easy

Downs, a leader in potato reception, automated sorting, and storage, has introduced its new high-throughput optical sorter for unwashed potatoes…

Jumbo X saves time and money

A winner of a prestigious ‘Technical Innovations 2024’ award by FederUnacoma at the EIMA show in Italy, the Maschio Jumbo…

NH unveils specialty tractor

New Holland recently showcased its new-generation T4.120 F specialty tractor, giving New Zealand customers a closer look at the winner…

Combining track and tyre

While the last fifty years has seen massive evolution and development of the humble tractor tyre, the last two decades…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Dodgy!

OPINION: If you believe Maori Party president John Tamihere’s claim that “nothing dodgy” occurred at Manurewa Marae during the last…

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter