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Pukekohe kiwifruit grower Pav Singh Gakhal takes a moment to check his crop of Red19, as it is harvested. Photo Credit: Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media
Good news for kiwifruit growers - a record crop with forecast per hectare returns at record levels for all fruit categories for the 2025-26 season.
Zespri released its final forecast for the 2025/26 season last week showing forecast per tray returns have increased from the November forecast for Zespri Green, Organic Green and Organic SunGold, with returns now exceeding the top end of the November ranges. Zespri SunGold, Sweet Green and RubyRed forecast per tray returns remain in line with the November forecast.
The February forecast shows per tray returns for Zespri Green have topped $10, compared to a final price of $8.36 the previous season.
For Zespri Organic Sungold, the forecast has risen to $15.84/tray. Growers received $15.20/tray last season.
Zespri chief executive Jason Te Brake says strong global demand has allowed Zespri to sell a record crop of around 215 million trays at strong value for growers.
"The forecast reflects strong sales in Europe and North America this season, along with a more positive finish in Asia following earlier season challenges.
"Our Northern Hemisphere supply season is also performing well, helping maintain shelf space and keep the Zespri brand in front of customers year-round. With volumes up 27%, our sales window will extend through to mid-March, around a month longer than last season and with new season New Zealand fruit expected to arrive in market from mid-April, we're moving closer to closing the supply gap."
Te Brake says it's been a collective effort across the industry to deliver such a large crop and meet the growing demand for fruit.
"And it's really pleasing to be on track to return strong value to growers, including a forecast return of $10 per tray for Green growers," he says.
Early estimates indicate another record crop of around 220 million trays for the new season.
He adds that getting off to a strong season start and managing fruit quality would be key to maximising and maintaining value in market.
"We're focused on getting our sales programmes up and running early so that we can capitalise on strong demand for our fruit and reduce the end of season quality risk to our markets.
"Selling a large proportion of the crop early in the season will help avoid the late season fruit quality costs we experienced with SunGold last season, with careful inventory management and getting our fruit into the right markets at the right time also critical in optimising grower returns."
Harvesting Begins
The New Zealand kiwifruit harvest has officially begun.
The first kiwifruit harvest of the 2026 season was a true family affair, with three generations of South Auckland orchardist Pav Singh Gakhal's relatives helping to pick five hectares of the Red variety of kiwifruit over the weekend.
It's the 26-year-old's first proper crop on the new development, which he runs with brother Deep, wife Jas, parents Major and Jaswinder, and lots of support from siblings, cousins and nieces and nephews.
"We struggled last year and learned some really good lessons and put in a lot of hard work," he said, during a break in harvest. "We're pretty happy with the size we've managed to achieve this year and we're really excited to see our kiwifruit get out to customers around the world," says Gakhal.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
According to Zespri's November forecast for the 2025/26 season, returns are likely to be up for all fruit groups compared to the last forecast in August.
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