increase font size
Up to 420 additional hectares of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit per year will be planted in Italy, France, Japan, South Korea and Greece over the next six years.
Kiwifruit marketer Zespri got the go-ahead from New Zealand kiwifruit growers to increase their plantings of its fruit overseas.
The new arrangements will see up to 420 additional hectares of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit per year over six years planted in Italy, France, Japan, South Korea and Greece starting next year. Kiwifruit plantings are already licensed by Zespri in several countries because it allows NZ kiwifruit to be available year round and fill a gap when NZ fruit is not available
Regulations required Zespri to get at least 75% support from growers to increase its overseas plantings. A vote was taken and an overwhelming 90.6% of kiwifruit growers supported the move. The voter turnout was 72.21%.
In the past, growers had rejected such a proposal, but this time the kiwifruit growers organisation NZKGI openly backed the Zespri move, with chief executive Colin Bond saying it makes sense that NZ should fill any gap in the market. He says markets are becoming increasingly competitive and NZ cannot leave a gap for competitors.
“That is why we have supported this Zespri initiative,” he says.
Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake says the result of this vote is crucial to working towards 12-month supply for key customers in key markets, filling more demand and supporting NZ grower returns into the future.
“The outlook for Zespri Kiwifruit is positive. I’ve spent a lot of time in the markets with our customers in 2024; they want more of our fruit, and they want it all year,” he says.
New Zealand's support for India during its current global security crisis could be key to securing a free trade agreement with the nation, according to the head of one of the country's largest independent accounting firms.
Almost a year to the day from when he made his first trip to India, Trade Minister Todd McClay is jetting off there again just before Christmas.
Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dan Boulton predicts that 2025 will be a better year for farmers.
International trade expert Stephen Jacobi says there could be “chaos” if President-elect Donald Trump sticks to his plan to slap high tariffs on goods from three key import markets.
Did you know that nearly 90% of total New Zealand wine sales occur offshore? That simple number means our wine businesses are the most export oriented of all the global wine industries. It also makes our sector especially sensitive to any changes in the trade rules that govern the access of our wines into international markets.
Later this month, Ardgour Valley Orchards apricots will burst onto the world stage and domestic supermarket shelves under the Temptation Valley brand.
Animal rights protest group PETA is calling for Agriculture Minister Todd McClay to introduce legislation which would make it mandatory to have live-streaming web cameras in all New Zealand shearing shed.
ACT MP and farmer Mark Cameron is calling on Parliament to thank farmers by reinstating provisions within the Resource Management Act that prevent regional councils from factoring climate change into their planning.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) has declared restricted fire seasons for the Waikato, Northland and Canterbury.
The first Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction drew mixed results, with drop in powder prices and lift in butter and cheeses.
ACT Party conservation spokesperson Cameron Luxton is calling for legislation that would ensure hunters and fishers have representation on the Conservation Authority.
OPINION: Before we all let The Green Party have at it with their 'bold' emissions reduction plan, the Hound thought…
OPINION: The Feds' latest banking survey shows that bankers are even less popular with farmers than they used to be,…
