New Zealand kiwifruit marketer Zespri’s latest grower return forecast has pegged an improvement for Zespri Green on last year, a slight drop for Zespri Green Organic, with returns for Zespri Gold holding steady.
Zespri Green returns are predicted at NZ$7-7.50 per tray, compared to a final return of NZ$7 for the 2009/10 season.
Zespri Gold is predicted at NZ$12-12.50, set against last season’s NZ$12.13. Organic Green is looking at a drop to a predicted NZ$8.40-8.90, down on last season’s NZ$8.96.
The Zespri board also expects to increase loyalty premiums to NZ$0.25 per tray, an increase on the NZ$0.15 paid out for the last season and NZ$0.165 paid in 2008/09.
“What we’ve seen is lower crop loadings resulting from poor fruit set not translating into the large profile we would normally expect to see, because of very dry weather across much of the country,” says Zespri CEO Lain Jager.
“This has translated into very high dry matters and excellent sugar levels in the 2010 crop. Together with strong early season delivery, we are well positioned for the season and expecting a modest recovery in local market returns, following a very challenging season last year.”
Zespri’s global sales results bucked the trend in 2009/10 and increased 3 per cent to NZ$1.5bn (US$1.01bn).
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