Thursday, 16 May 2019 11:27

Kiwifruit season shaping up well

Written by Peter Burke

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

Zespri’s Dave Courtney.

Zespri says it’s excited about another strong season shaping up for the kiwifruit industry.

The chief grower and alliances officer, David Courtney, says this season started a little earlier and the industry is right into harvest now.

He told Hort News that for the first time ever they are expecting to supply more SunGold than Green. Latest estimates are 75 million trays of SunGold and slightly fewer than 75m trays of Green.

“The dry weather in most growing regions has created some uncertainty on fruit sizing, but we’re expecting a great tasting crop,” Courtney says.

“Our first vessel has taken fruit to Japan and China, our two biggest markets. We’ll export 600,000 pallets of kiwifruit and use 18,000 containers and 45 charter vessels to transport our fruit to Asia, Europe and the Mediterranean.”

Courtney says the early feedback from the markets has been positive.

Featured

Call for action ahead of International Women's Day

This International Women's Day, there are calls to address a reported gender disparity gap between men women New Zealand's horticulture industry leadership.

Accident triggers traffic alert in barns, sheds

WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for a death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.

Plantain 'still a winner' in nitrogen loss battle

Now is not the time to stop incorporating plantain into dairy pasture systems to reduce nitrogen (N) loss, says Agricom Australasia brand manager Mark Brown.

People expos set to return

Building on the success of last year's events, the opportunity to attend People Expos is back for 2025, offering farmers the chance to be inspired and gain more tips and insights for their toolkits to support their people on farm.

SustaiN lands NZ registration

Ballance Agri-Nutrients fertiliser SustaiN – which contains a urease inhibitor that reduces the amount of ammonia released to the air – has now been registered by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). It is the first fertiliser in New Zealand to achieve this status.

Precision N application test costs 'outweigh returns'

Precision application of nitrogen can improve yields, but the costs of testing currently outweigh improved returns, according to new research from Plant and Food Research, MPI and Ravensdown.