New Zealand kiwifruit report - USDA FAS

Here is the link to the USDA FAS annual report on New Zealand kiwifruit. From the USDA report:




New Zealand production of kiwifruit during Marketing Year (MY) 2007 (January – December) jumped significantly, up 11.5% to a record 367,916 tons. Production of kiwifruit is expected to break another record in MY 2008 increasing approximately 4% to 382,000 tons. In MY 2007, New Zealand exports of kiwifruit reached a record 347,916 tons, a 12.2% jump from the previous year. Exports in MY 2008 are expected to increase a further 4% reaching 362,700 tons, primarily due to better orchard yields, larger fruit size, and lower loss rates.



A look ahead.....


In spite of increasing costs, kiwifruit production is expected to expand steadily over the next few years. While some kiwifruit vines have been taken out of production, the removals have largely been on marginal land that has historically delivered relatively low yields or low dry matter content. The areas withdrawn have been more than offset by a steady increase in plantings of the Zespri Gold variety. The plant variety rights for Zespri Gold are owned by Zespri, which controls the area planted to this variety. Currently, acreage planted to Zespri Gold is approximately 2,060 hectares compared to 451 for organic fruit and 9,675 for green fruit. Zespri is reportedly allowing an addition 600 hectares of the Zespri Gold variety to be planted over the next few years. Zespri has accepted tenders submitted by growers at over NZ $20,000 (USD 15,000) per hectare for the right to grow Zespri Gold, which indicates a certain degree of confidence in the future of this variety.A total of approximately 1,000 hectares planted to both Zespri Gold and green kiwifruit are expected to come on line over the next five years. This alone is expected to account for an 8% increase in production. Improvements in orchard management techniques will likely contribute to improved yields and a more favorable exchange rate will likely contribute to improved profitability. Having peaked at 82 cents to the U.S. dollar in April 2008, the New Zealand dollar fell to 70 cents in August 2008, which will bolster returns to growers in New Zealand dollar terms. New Zealand Government officials are forecasting that the New Zealand dollar will continue to depreciate over the next two to three years against most major currencies. This should help improve the profitability of kiwifruit production. In light of these factors, post predicts that national production will continue to increase between 2 and 4% per annum over the next few years. Industry contacts report that there is considerable scope for improving yields, dry matter content, and fruit size while also minimizing post-harvest fruit loss. Zespri pays its growers on the basis of various incentives, including taste (high dry matter) and early harvesting (Kiwi-Start program) , which results in considerable variation in the price received by growers. Successfully using the Kiwi-Start program could mean an additional $2.70 (USD 2.03) per tray for growers ompared to the industry average. Taste Payment incentives typically make up 16% to 25% of the total price received by growers depending on the variety of fruit. Zespri also pays premiums for organically grown green fruit and the Zespri Gold variety. In MY 2007, Zespri paid a premium of $1.85 (USD 1.39) per tray for organic fruit and a premium of $2.51 (USD.88) for Zespri Gold over and above the $6.30 (USD 4.73) per tray for the green variety. In July 2008, Zespri announced it will begin orchard trials of four new varieties. Orchardists will graft the new varieties onto 30 hectares of rootstock vines in August 2008.