Bumper crop forecast as kiwifruit harvest begins

Kiwifruit marketer Zespri is predicting another good year as the harvesting of gold fruit begins.

The grower-owned company said early indications of volume, quality and taste suggested this year's crop would be as successful as last year's.

Zespri exported almost 100 million trays of gold and green kiwifruit worth more than $800m last year.

Payments to growers for last season are still to be finalised, but forecasts for gold are $12.06 a tray, up $2.36. Green growers, who will begin picking the new season's fruit in a few weeks, are expecting $6.91 a tray, down 7c.

The first shipments will leave New Zealand in late March, destined for markets in Europe and Japan, in time to capitalise on early-season marketing programmes.

Corporate and grower services director, Carol Ward, said the industry was geared up for the new season.

"I've recently attended a number of grower meetings and it was fantastic to see the positive feeling. Worldwide, people are beginning to recover from the economic downturn which bodes well for our industry."

Zespri was also assessing four new kiwifruit varieties – one early and two long-life gold varieties and an earlier, sweeter, green kiwifruit.

Harvesting had begun and rigorous packing, storage and in-market tests were under way to determine if the varieties had a commercial future.

- © Fairfax NZ News