Wednesday, 25 February 2026 11:55

Bay of Plenty and Northland Orchards Named Finalists for Ahuwhenua Trophy

Written by Peter Burke

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Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee chair, Nukuhia Hadfield (pictured) says the finalists represent a cohort of Māori growers who are playing an important role in horticulture.

Two kiwifruit orchards in the Bay of Plenty and one in Northland are this year's finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy competition.

The three finalists are Mātai Pacific Iwi Collective based at Te Puke, Otama Marere Trust from Paengaroa just out of Te Puke and the Ngāti Hine Forestry Trust whose orchards are based near Kerikeri.

The finalists will fight for the top Māori horticulture property title.

The finalists were announced last week by the Minister of Māori Development Tama Potaka at a special event at Parliament, attended by politicians, including Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, diplomats, central and local government officials and industry leaders.

Mātai Pacific are a collective of three iwi and have a total of 158ha. of kiwifruit spread over three orchards. They are Zespri's largest single Māori shareholder with a combined asset value is over $130 million.

Otama Marere Trust's operations include more than 21 hectares of kiwifruit, avocados and native plantings. Their land was originally leased to the local golf club before being developed by the trust in the 1980s. Today they have 11.87 hectares in Haywards, 2.21ha in Sungold G3 and 7.8ha in Sungold organics.

Ngāti Hine, based at Kerikeri, has six kiwifruit orchards including 32 hectares of Zespri Sungold G3 under cover. All the orchards have lease and supply agreements with Seeka. Although the main assets of the trust are forestry, the kiwifruit orchards was a deliberate move to diversify their asset base.

Ahuwhenua Trophy management committee chair, Nukuhia Hadfield says the finalists represent a cohort of Māori growers who are playing an important role in horticulture - the fastest growing of all the primary export industries.

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