New Zealand apple production is tipped to top 551,000 tonnes for the first time, according to the New Zealand Herald.
The forecast, which would better the industry’s previous record crop of 550,000 tonnes in 2013, comes as harvests conclude on orchards across the Pacific nation. Pipfruit New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard said the prospect of a record season proved the industry was on target to achieve its 10-year goal of becoming a NZ$1bn sector by 2022.
“We are well on track for this NZ$1bn target that we have set ourselves and we will certainly achieve that earlier than anticipated,' Pollard told the New Zealand Herald. 'We have had three good seasons in a row and we see ourselves as having a very sustainable growth path now.'
Export returns per carton rose by 30 per cent between 2010 and 2014, with international trade valued at NZ$536m for the New Zealand industry last year. Along with strong global demand, Pollard said a high level of new plantings would also drive value-growth for the industry.
'There is a large amount of investment going in,” Pollard explained. 'Something like 40 per cent of our trees are less than 10 years old, so a lot of the growth will come from the substantial amount of new plantings.'
