Record Kiwifruit Harvest Brings Optimism, but Green Growers Face Profitability Challenges
Signs for the 2026-27 kiwifruit crop look good, but there are still some challenges for growers – especially those who produce green kiwifruit.
John Cook's Te Puke orchards produce a total of 82,000 trays of Hayward and G14, with all but one tray making it to export last season, his inaugural season packing with DMS.
"It's a dream result and I'm really impressed, " says Cook.
"In the past my fruit loss has been well below the industry average, but last season saw one tray total fruit loss, with a good volume of fruit carried to the very end of the storage programme. It takes good quality fruit and exceptional inventory management to end up with a result like that."
Cook is expecting similar volumes in the coming season, along with close to 30,000 trays of G3 as the first crop off three hectares that have been non-producing for the past four years during the Psa recovery.
Having been in the kiwifruit industry for the past 35 years, Cook has been through its many ups and downs and believes that having survived the Psa outbreak the biggest issue currently facing the industry is the need to future proof. That includes human resourcing at an orchard and post-harvest level, as well as at industry leadership level.
"The sector has shown incredible resilience and the recent challenges have united the industry in a way which will become a hallmark of its resurrection," he says.
According to Cook, innovation will play a huge role in driving the industry forward and for him DMS fits that role.
