New Zealand’s Kiwifruit Industry Advisory Council has approved a service level agreement (SLA) for Hayward fruit that sits between the 2016 and 2017 taste standards.
According to a release from representative body New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers (NZKGI) – a member of Industry Advisory Council – the SLA allows for the supply of Hayward conventional and organic fruit that is below the 2017 minimum taste standard (MTS) of a dry matter threshold of 15.5 but is equal to or greater than the 2016 MTS.
Fruit supplied under this SLA does not receive any taste payment. No Class 2 or non-standard supply size 46 fruit will be accepted by single-desk marketer Zespri.
“The SLA allows for a dispensation clearance to be requested whereby a previously failed result is converted into a Hayward MTS Dispensation to allow harvest and packing under the SLA,” the NZKGI release stated.
Asiafruit understands close to 99 per cent of fruit has surpassed the new 2017 MTS threshold. The small volume of fruit cleared under the dispensation will not be marketed under the Zespri brand.
