Zespri is reflecting on the things that have gone wrong in the last two years, and looking at how to get things back on track for 2024.
The impact of the devastating frost late last year will see a significant drop in this season's crop. Chief executive Dan Mathieson told Rural News this will be between 10% and 20% but likely closer to 20% with some growers losing their entire crop.
Zespri is expecting the export volume to be about the same as last season. It was expected to be higher in 2023 with extra fruit coming on stream.
The frost event compounded the problems of the previous season, which saw a significant drop in fruit quality and drew concerns about the fruit from some of NZ's major markets. Mathieson says a major outbreak of Covid-19 hit at the peak of the 2022 harvest and with a major labour shortage, a lot of fruit was physically damaged in the whole supply chain - including the picking and post-harvest operations.
Mathieson warns that it's not just a case of focusing entirely on the harvesting of the fruit; he says Zespri is stepping back and doing a complete reset of the industry. This includes the whole supply chain and questioning whether the present incentives driving the outcomes required, which is the production of early and high quality fruit that can be stored throughout the season.