New Zealand apple rebound

Luis of the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group posted a great article about the status of the New Zealand apple industry. Here is an excerpt:

This is the brave new world of apple growing in New Zealand. And about time, too. In the decade from the mid-1990s, the industry squandered a lot of its natural advantage and hard-won leadership. The results were disastrous. It is a cautionary tale for all New Zealand industries.
We should be good at apples, thanks to some unique pockets of climate and soil. The very best flat land around Nelson and Hastings can produce 100 tonnes of apples per hectare in the very best season. But 50 tonnes is a good average across the country, compared with 30 in Washington state, 17 in Australia and 13 in the UK.
Down through the decades, New Zealand has also been a leader in developing new varieties such as Royal Gala and Braeburn or commercialising new types from other countries such as Granny Smith from Australia and Fuji from Japan.
But in the mid-1990s, disaster struck. We'd failed to hang on to the intellectual property of Royal Gala and Braeburn. Planted widely in competitor countries such as Chile, they became highly commoditised.

TK: The gist: NZ on the rebound with labor saving technology, market positioning with no detectable pesticide residues, variety innovation and a more coordinated marketing approach.