Producers in New Zealand and European importers will breathe a sigh of relief after industry body Pipfruit NZ predicted the country’s smallest Braeburn export crop since 1994.
The apple and pear harvest is now complete in all growing districts and packhouses are able to estimate final export volumes of the key Braeburn variety.
Pipfruit NZ chief executive Peter Beaven said estimates are based on information supplied from major packhouses in both Hawke’s Bay and Nelson, the two major growing regions.
“The Braeburn crop will fall well short of the pre-season estimate of 5.68 million cases,” Beaven announced today. “We think the total volume won’t be more than 5m cases.” This compares with last season’s exported volume of 7.1m cases and the record Braeburn export crop of 8.3m cases in 2004.
“Our search through industry records indicates that the last time our Braeburn crop was under five million cases was in 1994, when a significant proportion of the crop was lost in a major hailstorm in Hawke’s Bay,” Beaven said.
The anticipated small crop is likely to have continental European and UK supermarkets clamouring to secure supply, particularly as average fruit size is larger than market preferences. “Many exporters are reporting strong interest from offshore, and the first arrivals in Europe are selling at good prices,” Mr Beaven said.
The main early NZ variety, Royal Gala, is now on the shelves in Europe. Exporters describe demand and pricing as good.
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