In New Zealand, the organisation charged with fighting against the deadly Psa virus, Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH), is predicting that it will post expenses of between NZ$40m-NZ$44m for the fiscal year ended 30 June.
If this is the case, it will mean the majority of its original NZ$50m budget – comprising NZ$25m from the government and NZ$25m from the industry – will have been spent on battling the disease, the Waikato Times reported.
It would leave KVH with some NZ$6m to finance its work against Psa over the next three years, with the most virulent form, Psa-V, now confirmed in 909 orchards, mostly in the Te Puke region.
However, general manager John Burke confirmed that KVH was in 'good shape' financially, and said that the first 12 months had been a building phase, the Waikato Times noted.
'That building phase is nearing completion,' he said. 'Now we are entering an operational maintenance phase and looking at the core function of KVH and what it will cost.'
The sector has also begun formally predicting the size of next year's crop, with Burke warning that only 30 per cent of growers in the Bay of Plenty region were expected to harvest a crop next year.
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