Zespri fortunes change

In its first official forecast of the season, Zespri is predicting an average 12 per cent increase in fruit and service payments per tray compared to last season. This translates as a 13 per cent increase for green and organic fruit and a three per cent increase for Gold.

“This brings returns back to very similar levels to 2004-05," said Tim Goodacre, Zespri ceo. “The favourable effects of foreign exchange and in-market pricing are offset by freight increases - particularly bunker prices - which continue to have a negative impact on pool returns.”

Overall, selling prices have improved on last season, particularly for green and organic fruit and global sales are expected to top NZ$1 billion (£340 million).

As a result, orchard-gate returns are also forecast to increase year-on-year on a per-productive-hectare basis by six per cent for green fruit, eight per cent for organic and four per cent for Gold.

Fruit loss before shipping is significantly higher than last season as Zespri has been rigorous in its implementation of quality controls, including wharf-side checks, so as to avoid fruit loss at destination. This has had a variable impact across the grower base. “Our forecast size rations reflect a significant increase in volumes of large size fruit, with lower payments this year for these larger sizes,” said Goodacre.