Blueberries Could Be NZ's Next $150m Horticultural Export
Blueberries have the potential to become a major horticultural export, earning up to $150 million within the next three to five years.
The February forecast has Green at a record $9.44 per tray, significantly up from last season’s Orchard Gate Return (OGR) of $5.78 per tray.
Forecast SunGold Kiwifruit returns are also at a record level of $12.62 per tray, well above last season’s final OGR of $9.97, while Organic SunGold Kiwifruit is at $14.21.
For Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit, the forecast average per tray return is at a record $26.54, up from last season’s final OGR of $22.27.
Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson says the significant effort undertaken by the industry to lift fruit quality and reduce quality costs had been a key factor in the improved returns, along with strong consumer demand for Zespri Kiwifruit.
“The lift we’ve seen in all of our per-tray returns is a real credit to the hard work that’s taken place across the industry and throughout our global supply chain to improve quality,” Mathieson says.
“It’s really helped our markets to maintain strong run rates and maximise value while closing out the season, with all categories other than Organic SunGold Kiwifruit expected to deliver record per-tray returns.”
He says that while Zespri is always looking to increase the value the company is returning across all varieties, it’s particularly pleasing to see a real lift in Green returns.
“That’s been driven by the increased value our teams have secured from lower volumes, especially in Europe, as well as strong market performance in Japan and North America.”
“We’ve also seen strong demand for SunGold Kiwifruit and RubyRed Kiwifruit has continued to perform strongly, which we expect to see continue as RubyRed becomes the first of this year’s crop to hit stores soon.”
With a crop of approximately 193 million trays expected to be shipped in 2024/25, Mathieson says the forecast is an indicator of the sort of value that could be achieved by providing consistently high quality fruit.
“We know that when we get good fruit to market it sells and sells well, so continuing to focus on providing our customers and consumers with great kiwifruit throughout the season will again be our focus,” he says.
“As well as the focus on per tray returns, we’re also looking forward to seeing improved per hectare returns for growers in the coming season, with our February crop estimate showing a strong improvement in expected yields.”
At a per hectare level, forecast OGRs for all categories have increased against the previous forecast. Green and SunGold forecast OGRs are now above final 2022 season returns, despite the season’s lower yields.
