Just as England are frequently on the receiving end of a rubgy trouncing by the All Blacks, they are also regular recipients of something more benign from New Zealand: fresh produce. Despite an 11,600-mile gap between the two countries, the antipodean nation now exports around $1.6 billion worth of consumables to the UK.
Kiwis dominate their horticultural output at a hefty $1.2bn of exports in 2017, and apples and pears follow with a total of $494 million. The UK takes around 20 per cent of that. Thomas Lowes, managing director of UK importer Fruit Vision says New Zealand’s strength in topfruit is down to a simple matter of quality. “My volumes have gone up year on year. I can get behind the New Zealand produce and have faith in my growers; the soil quality and climate lend themselves to superb product.
“If you think about how much investment has gone into their growing for many years now, they really are an example to follow, even with considerable logistics charges taken into account, as they have better economies of scale.”
Peter Landon-Lane of T&G Global says New Zealand’s topfruit growers are aiming to become a $1bn industry by 2022. “There’s plenty of growth around the world and New Zealand’s NZ$700m apple industry was recently named the world’s most competitive performer again, ranking first over 33 major apple producing countries in the 2018 World Apple Report,” he says.
The country excels in sweeter varieties of Royal Gala and Braeburn, with Cox apple numbers shrinking according to Lowes. Overall topfruit exports to the UK have increased by an average eight per cent since 2013, although there is new competition for their fruit.
“New Zealand’s market focus has shifted dramatically over the last 10 years or so, with greater percentages heading to Asia each season. However, Europe is still key to their plans,” Lowes says.
As an international company, Brexit is on the radar of T&G, with the UK effectively becoming a new trading partner as it falls away from the EU. “T&G is wary of any potential changes to those commitments that might be considered between the UK and EU in their Brexit negotiations,” Landon-Lane says. “We know the New Zealand government is very alert to this risk and will be protecting the country’s interests. Since the WTO was signed, we’ve been able to manage all our business in the EU as one focus, but Brexit will mean having to manage the UK separately to how we operate on the continent.”
This year, New Zealand top fruit will fail to fill a gap in Britain’s apple market after the European season finished early, according to Lowes. “There’s going to be big shortages in Royal Gala, which the market might not feel until July. The initial volumes have been sucked out to due to the early finish in the north. We have had a very quick start, which means it will be a very quick end to the season.”
Lowes adds that prices in Royal Gala are now at one of their highest points in recent memory. “This year there’s probably been the strongest price I’ve seen in 10 years,” he reports. “I’m going to be short of Royal Gala in July. I’ll be waiting for the Italian crop.”
In line with topfruit exports, it’s clear that kiwi sales are picking up in the UK with Kantar Worldpanel data showing a 10 per cent increase in value in the past year to £51.2m.
In light of rising global demand, New Zealand based company Seeka, which supplies Asda’s kiwis, is creating new orchards in Australia for worldwide export. The company is aiming to pick and pack around 1m trays of kiwi at its Bunbartha orchards in Victoria state this season. Roughly 25 per cent of the crop will be exported, with both green and gold fruit to be sent to Asia, the UK and Europe.
“Prior to Seeka’s purchase, the operation here in Bunbartha was heavily focused on supplying the domestic market,” says Seeka Australia’s sales manager Cameron Carter. “A lot of the potential we see here is in growing our current and prospective business in international markets.”
