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.
According to Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson, RubyRed has gone really well in the market because it’s such a “new, beautiful looking, vibrant, tasty fruit”. He says it’s generating a lot of excitement.
“This is especially so with young kids because they love the taste and also they love the red colour.”
Mathieson says, from Zespri’s perspective, because RubyRed is the first fruit to go on sale, it’s the signal that the kiwifruit harvest is underway and paves the way for Green and then Sun- Gold varieties which follow.
He told Rural News that for orchardists, RubyRed is a new fruit and many are still learning how to get the best yields and quality from the fruit.
For most primary sectors, China is not an easy market to operate in at present with the Covid lockdowns causing a slowdown with their economy, which in turn is still having an impact on consumer confidence. But Mathieson says this is not the case with kiwifruit.
“We are the reverse to that and we have seen quite strong demand and a strong rebound for us,” he explains. “The type of consumers Zespri are looking at tend to be in the middle upper consumer bracket and they want more healthy nutritious food and our kiwifruit fits in perfectly with that.”
Also, in regard to China, Mathieson says production of illegal fruit grown there is down, partly due to a tough growing season there, which has been hot and also the impact of an outbreak of PSA. He adds that some rule changes by the Chinese government, which is limiting the areas where kiwifruit can be grown, is working in NZ’s favour.
Meanwhile, Mathieson says some law changes have made it easier for NZ to take legal action against orchardists there who are illegally growing kiwifruit.
