Some 35% of Hawkes Bay apple crop could be lost due to Cyclone Gabrielle, says Paul Paynter of the Yummy Fruit Company, one of the region’s largest apple orcharding businesses. Still, it’s really too early to accurately predict the loss.
Paynter describes the devastation caused by cyclone Gabrielle as the biggest economic disaster to have hit the region. In the Esk Valley, in the north of region, where river levels rose seven metres above normal. “Orchards in the Esk valley are absolutely wiped out. They are unrecognisable zombie orchards and there are trees that are not even recognisable as trees.”
Paul Paynter says the harvest had already started in Hawkes Bay, with about 9,000 bins picked of the popular Royal Gala variety on his property alone. This has now stopped as staff have to focus on trying to clear the sludge away from the orchards so that picking can resume. He says if they don’t get rid of the sludge, in a few weeks’ time this could turn to dust and create even bigger problems.
Source: ruralnewsgroup.co.nz