Psa, the bacterial vine infection currently attacking kiwifruit production in New Zealand, is likely to cost international marketer Zespri at least NZ$100m in overseas earnings next year, a report published in the Bay of Plenty Times has suggested.
With New Zealand's production of gold-fleshed kiwifruit variety Hort16A particularly badly hit by the disease, industry estimates suggest the Zespri Gold crop will be as much as 10m trays down on this year's harvest – although that itself was around 8m trays larger than in 2010.
According to the Bay of Plenty Times report, the full impact of Psa will be known next month when warmer spring temperatures arrive.
In the meantime, Zespri has revealed it is planning to export about 20m trays of New Zealand-grown Gold in 2012, down from a record 30m trays in 2011.
Te Puke district, the worst hit region, traditionally ships closer to half (around 14m trays) of New Zealand's entire Gold crop, but that figure is expected to fall dramatically next year after several hundred hectares of production were removed in order to tackle the disease.
Zespri deputy chairman Peter McBride told the newspaper: 'There will be a serious impact on Gold vines at Te Puke but the general Bay and national crop will still do reasonable volumes.'
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