With deliveries of New Zealand fruit almost complete, single desk kiwifruit marketer Zespri is reporting record sales in key Asian markets over the 2015 season.
“Zespri is closing in on total sales of nearly 21m trays in Japan – a record result for that market,” explained Zespri chief executive Lain Jager. “Sales in China also hit a record high of over 18m trays, up from 11.4m trays the previous season.”
Jager said the 2015 season has been marked by the record yield of large-sized green fruit. The forecast grower return for green is NZ$4.87 per tray with volumes ticking over 80m trays, up 16 per cent on last season.
Total gold volumes out of New Zealand were around 33m trays, with Zespri SunGold volumes increasing nearly three times from 10.6m trays last season to 27.5m trays in 2015. The forecast return for gold is NZ$7.96 per tray.
“The season provided great results for Zespri SunGold, as volumes continue to grow strongly, and customers and consumers respond positively to this product,” Jager explained. “This gives us confidence that the forecast SunGold volume growth will be readily supported by markets.”
The forecast return for the new Green14 variety, marketed as Sweet Green, is NZ$6.94 per tray, with orchard gate returns per hectare increasing significantly to NZ$42,644 as vines reach maturity.
Jager said Zespri is focused on finishing the New Zealand sales season strongly, with final arrivals of fruit in China and South East Asia last week. The company’s global supply season from Northern Hemisphere orchards is now underway.
Zespri’s is forecasting a net profit range of NZ$16.5m to $21.5m for the year ending 31 March 2016. Looking ahead, Jager said the outlook is for continued volume growth against what could be a challenging economic backdrop.
“The potential impact of slower global economic growth and foreign currency fluctuations poses some risk but we’re going into 2016 with confidence,” Jager said.
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