New Zealand kiwifruit marketer Zespri is forecasting a smaller crop this season, although its figures differ from those released previously by the US department of agriculture.
“Orchard monitoring on flower numbers nationally indicates that the flower count for green is down, which would result in a smaller crop for 2006,” said a Zespri spokeswoman. “Feedback from growers at our roadshows throughout the country are that flower count is down 10 to 20 per cent for green on 2005. The movement in flower numbers does not necessarily correspond to a movement in crop volume, but is typically an indicator of whether the crop is up or down on the previous season.” The green organic crop is similarly affected.
USDA information suggested that the green crop would be down by some eight per cent based on flower count, while Zespri Gold production will rise by five per cent.
“The view from growers is that Gold is up,” confirmed Zespri. “But there has been some concern over heavy winds in the past month. Nationally, flower numbers for Gold are up, suggesting a higher crop volume than last year’s 14 million trays. But there have been some reports of wind damage particularly in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and the Bay of Plenty.”
Crop forecasts are not available from Chile yet, but reports in local papers suggest the South Americans are anticipating increased opportunity this season due to reductions in the NZ crop. “The forecast decline in the New Zealanders crop represents 15 per cent of Chilean exports in 2005,” reported weekly Revista del Campo. “Given the spread of markets Chile should study these in detail to make the most of opportunities which could present themselves from New Zealand’s reduced production.”
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