New Zealand boysenberry growers are predicting an increased volume of excellent-quality fruit this season thanks to favourable growing conditions in the country’s main areas of production.
New Zealand’s largest grower Graham Battersby told the Nelson Mail he could not remember a spring that had provided better growing conditions with hot, dry and calm weather leading to excellent flowering and fruit set.
The weather had been welcomed after poor growing conditions during the two previous seasons, he said. Volumes this year on his orchard would be up 30 per cent on last year, he predicted.
He added that while the economy looked healthier as the crippling effects of the Global Financial Crisis abated, a high New Zealand dollar, relative to the greenback, would cut into gate returns.
Berryfruit NZ sales and marketing manager Roger Brough told the newspaper New Zealand boysenberry exports this season would likely increase to around US$6.1m, up from US$5.3m last year.
He added that trading conditions in Europe were ‘tough’ and the market in the United States remained unpredictable. Because of this he said Berryfruit NZ would look to boost sales into Japan and Australia and open new markets in Asia, with a focus on China.
'We've only got to see a little bit of a downturn with two or three significant customers and suddenly the whole thing takes a speed bump, so we're broadening our base and looking at new market opportunities,” he told the Nelson Mail.
No comments yet