New Zealand grower and exporter Integrow is celebrating 25 years in business this year, the company now exports 30,000 MT tonnes of produce each year. Exports consist of onions, apples, squash as well as cherries, avocados, citrus and carrots to markets around the globe.
"Integrow is a business about growing fresh produce, but also growing our people, our staff and this has seen great growth over the last 25 years, where we now export 30,000MT of produce annually. Proudly we have many growers and buyers retained over the last 25 years, and this is testament to our staff who are mindful of the need to work long-term together and as we say, 'working with like-minded people'," said Phil Bird, Managing Director at Integrow.
One of Integrow's main exports is onions, grown in Pukekohe, Manawatu, Hawkes Bay, Canterbury.
"Last year was a challenging due to strong yields and the EU market did not go as expected. However, we managed to sell our growers' onions at fair value and our growers were pleased with the final result. Our export volumes were normal, and quality was very good. We always get a range of sizes over the fields, so we end up with all sizes that, then go to all markets. We were pleased to open up some new markets for New Zealand onions and see these new markets as good growth for future years, which is very promising."
The main Asian markets for onions are Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan. "All of Asia was challenging, but all of our grower's volume, was exported."
"On the domestic front, there is only a little stock left. Most international buyers are now buying Northern Hemisphere onions, but I can see a shortage of larger onions."
All of the new onion crop has been planted despite a wet June and July, but August and September have been dry and allowed all final crops to be planted.
"Looking forward to the new season, we predict less volume from New Zealand. Maybe 5-10% less planted, but the main reason for this is that more ELK/PLK type onions will be planted and less hybrid varieties, so yields will be of smaller sized onions, hence the final New Zealand volume could be down 20-25% for 2025 compared with 2024. So, the market for 2025, could turn early next year to a very good market, since many countries struggle to grow good crops with world weather events. This makes our job exciting, as opportunities are always around the corner and we are ready to react !"
For more information:
Kirsty Randell
Integrow
Tel: +64 27 845 6500
[email protected]
www.integrow.co.nz