Another Very Tight Year For Some Kiwifruit Growers Who Won’t Make Any Money This Year And It Is All Down To The Four Major Weather Events That Have Hit The Growing Season

Another very tight year for some kiwifruit growers who won’t make any money this year and it is all down to the four major weather events that have hit the growing season. The extreme weather will result in the smallest green kiwifruit crop in 20 years. Zespri is expecting to export about 136 million trays of green, SunGold and RubyRed kiwifruit this season – down from 171 million trays last year. And Zespri Chief executive Dan Mathieson says that could drop further when orchard assessments are completed following April’s hail storm in Te Puke. He says Green kiwifruit is the hardest hit with around 42 million green trays available – down from around 61 million trays in 2022. That is one of the lowest volumes in the past 20 years expected . New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers CEO Colin Bond says as an example, a grower last year might have produced 10,000 trays a hectare, but at loss of $3 per tray for in quality penalties. This year, they may only produce 8000 trays, but with expected better quality this season value will greater. Zespri is forecasting a larger crop next year giving growers an opportunity to rebound from weather events this year.