Brad Olsen: Infometrics Principal Economist on the recent boom in cherry exports

Export prices are sitting in a strong position - with cherries seeing a surge in overseas demand.

New data shows cherry exports over the 2024/25 season reached 5.07m kg, up 33 percent from the prior season.

Infometrics Principal Economist unpacked this data further.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bryan Bridge.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
They're very small but very valuable to our fruit production
export industry. I'm talking about cherries this evening. This season
we exported five million kilos of cherries. That's up thirty
three percent on last year. It's significant. Brad Olsen is
the Inmflemetric's principal economisis with me tonight, brag, good evening,
good evening. So cherries, cherries everywhere where are we sending them?

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Well, the bulk of the cherries that we're exporting are
heading off to particular Asia. The likes of Taiwan was
the biggest market, but Asia in general was taking well
over ninety five percent of what we send out. That's
usual and sort of not too much of a shift there,
But what was interesting was where some of those other
smaller countries, but we're taking some bigger cherry exports this year.

(00:46):
In particular, the US are seeing quite a big increase
relatively speaking on what they normally take, but also the
Middle East normally taking just about no cherries, but this
year a bit of a bulk up in the likes
of the United Arab Emirates in Saudi Arabia, those sort
of areas you know, do start to show that those
trade deals that we've got going throughout the rest of

(01:06):
the world are starting to work. There's a bit more
profile for New Zealand exports to get out and about.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
What sort of money we're getting. Are we getting top dollar?

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Well, I would have thought so at the moment. I
mean the fact that we were able to see cherry
volumes go up thirty three percent to over five million
kilograms and prices actually stayed at the high levels that
they had been for the first time. Over the twelve
months to February twenty twenty five, our cherry exports made
US one hundred and twenty four million, first time it's
made over one hundred mili. Now that doesn't sound like much,

(01:37):
but these are some pretty high value products that we're
able to send overseas. They're obviously quite seasonal, but it
shows that when we can bulk up our exports by
a third and a year and the price doesn't really change,
in fact it slightly goes up, there's some healthy demand
for New Zealand fruit overseas.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
Does this I mean when you start to see prices
highlight this, you see volumes starting to trees, you see
new markets opening up does that mean we will see
more production or are we at peak cherry production here?
What is the situation?

Speaker 1 (02:08):
I don't necessarily think we're at peak production, but I mean,
of course it's a pretty big jump. You wouldn't be
expecting to see the same thing again next year. This year,
of course, seem to be better growing conditions a bit
a bit later than usual, and of course there's always
those worries around frosts and hail and similar so we
can never sort of bank on it being great always
production wise. But I think given the fact that we've

(02:31):
got this continual focus on trying to grow exports, the
fact that at the moment the numbers are sitting in
a good position, there's clearly demand out there. We'll continue
to try and supply not only the likes of cherries
and all of the other good stuff that we send
out Kiwi fruits, apples and the like, but also be
looking at where are there new opportunities to send different
types of fruit. There's clearly demand, so we should be

(02:53):
making sure that we're on the.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
Table absolutely, Brad, Thank you for that. Brad Olson infor
metric principle Economists.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
For more from Heathered Duplasy, Allen Drive.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
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