As anticipation builds towards the start of New Zealand’s apple export season, retailers and wholesalers are being encouraged to take advantage of growing volumes of sweet tasting, highly coloured varieties.
Speaking with Asiafruit at Fruit Logistica last week, Ben McLeod, retail sales manager of Hawkes Bay-based grower-packer-exporter Mr Apple, said his company had invested heavily in replacing older varieties with more modern, high-red strains over recent seasons. He pinpointed the unique NZ Queen as one of the varieties to watch this year.
“NZ Queen is only grown in New Zealand,” McLeod explained. “With our volumes up significantly this season, this is the perfect apple to make customers go ‘wow.’ Given Mr Apple exports about 35 per cent of the NZ Queen crop, we are expecting strong and early demand for this beauty.”
The outlook is also positive for Diva, a variety exclusive to Mr Apple and a handful of selected growers. Diva production is tipped to rise 130 per cent on last season, according to McLeod. “Diva apples are perfect for retailers or wholesalers who need a high red, high Brix apple to compete against other proprietary high red apples,” he noted.
Fitting with a forecast released by Pipfruit New Zealand earlier this week, McLeod said ideal summer growing conditions and a later start to the season would deliver a high-quality New Zealand crop, although overall volumes would likely be down on last season.
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