Season's first kiwifruit China bound
Zespri's first charter shipment of the 2024 New Zealand kiwifruit season is on its way to Shanghai.
European consumption growth of 'non-staple' fruits like kiwifruit and branded premium apples represent good news for New Zealand's horticulture sector, says Rabobank’s senior fruit vegetable and floriculture analyst Cindy van Rijswick.
"Indeed, out of all southern hemisphere exporting countries, NZ is the best positioned to take advantage of this," she says.
"NZ has a good reputation for high-quality fruit, efficient growers and strong exporters."
This trend to premium products has also helped particularly strong growth in the berry sector (fresh and frozen), van Rijswick says. Significant growth is foreseen over the next five years.
The health attributes of berries and their versatility as an ingredient in smoothies and dairy products is also behind the upswing in demand, she says.
"We are also forecasting a revival in the demand for stone fruit," she says, driven by investment in new varieties, which is expected to ramp up demand for plums and peaches from fairly stagnant levels over recent years.
"Another high growth category is avocados; this is a global phenomenon, just like berries."
In contrast, Ms van Rijswick says, 'staple' fruits and fresh vegetables are expected to show stable and, in some cases, declining growth in the coming five years, as fresh-cut and frozen fruit and vegetables gain market share from the whole fresh and preserved categories due to their 'value' proposition.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
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