Zespri anticipates gold kiwifruit volumes from its Northern Hemisphere production programmes will almost double over the 2016/17 season.
At its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday (31 August), the New Zealand-based marketer revealed 3.6m trays of gold fruit were sold from its Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) during the 2015/16 season. This included 2.3m trays of SunGold.
“For the 2016 season and beyond, Zespri will focus on growing demand ahead of supply as our volumes grow strongly and growing our share of the market with a premium price positioning,” explained Zespri chief executive Lain Jager.
Overall SunGold sales are also climbing, with a record volume of 27.5m trays (from total New Zealand gold volume of 32.6m trays) sold over 2015/16, earning an average return for the gold pool of NZ$8.21 per tray.
Zespri’s total sales revenue for the season grew to a record NZ$1.9bn, up 22 per cent from the previous season. The total fruit and service payment to growers for New Zealand-grown fruit grew 22 per cent on the previous year to NZ$1.143bn, with average return per hectare reaching a record $60,758.
“Sales volumes were up 21 per cent from the previous season, with sales of 131.6m trays in the 2015/16 season,” said Zespri chairman Peter McBride. “This included sales of 117m trays of New Zealand-grown kiwifruit– nearly 22m trays more than the previous year – and 14.5m trays of non-New Zealand kiwifruit.”
Zespri’s corporate net profit after tax in 2015/16 was also strong, increasing by NZ$1.2M to NZ$35.8m, with a final full-year dividend of NZ$0.24 per share. This was partly attributable to the release of a NZ$13m provision for matters relating to Zespri’s subsidiary in China, ZMCC, which are now resolved.
Jager told shareholders at the AGM that the forecast for the current 2016/17 season remains healthy, despite a number of hurdles, including its move to voluntarily suspend exports to China to address the discovery of a fungus by Chinese quarantine authorities in some shipments. Exports to the People’s Republic have now resumed.
“Each season brings its own challenges and opportunities and we remain focused on consistently delivering our strategy over time and staying on track to provide the world’s best portfolio of kiwifruit 12 months a year,” Jager said.
“After a late start to the 2016 season with delayed maturity, we’re pleased to report that weekly sales run rates have now surpassed last year’s sales and we’re on track to sell 82m trays of Zespri Green and 47m trays of Zespri SunGold of NZ-grown kiwifruit. The strong positive response from customers and consumers around the world is very encouraging as we seek to further establish SunGold in new and developed markets.”
