Dean Smith: Summerfruit NZ CEO on cherry exports hitting a new milestone

This summer was one to remember for the cherry industry.  

Exports have hit a new milestone, surpassing five thousand tonnes. 

The previous record was about 4,200 tonnes in the 2017/18 season. 

Summerfruit New Zealand CEO Dean Smith told Mike Hosking exports were not only high, but also of high quality. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It turns out it was a summer to remember for

(00:01):
many growers of the cherry industry. The latest to break
records five thousand tons were exported for the first time,
smashed the twenty seventeen eighteen season out of the park
by about eight hundred tons. Are the some a few
New Zealand CEO Dean Smith's with this. Dean, very good
morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Quality and quantity was the quality just as good as
the quantity.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Look the quality the export quality this year was strong
and it needs to be. You know, we're a quite
high quality product, and so I guess to occupy that
premium place in the market, that's what we need to
be focused on.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
And we're getting good prices.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Well, look, I guess you know, the top line numbers
look favorable for the year, but we need to we
need to remember I suppose those numbers that have been
floating around are based on the FOB value for customs purposes.
I guess we're a little bit too soon to know.
I guess just what the returns are going to look
like for growers, but we're I guess cautiously optimistic.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
What's the bigger picture the markets we're in as their
room for growth is their room for new markets?

Speaker 2 (00:55):
Well, I think both absolutely both. I mean, if you
look at the profile of the market that we're in,
Taiwan is actually the largest market for New Zealand cheries
by a long way. We're obviously the second biggest market
there being mainland China, which obviously is a much larger market.
So you know that would suggest that there is significant
potential there, but it's a very competitive marketplace like the
Chilean's especially have really increased their production as well. So

(01:19):
as I said earlier, we have to be focused.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
On quoth is it like wine? And do excuse my ignorance,
the profile of a New Zealand cherry? Do you compete
with Chile on profile? Or is a cherry a cherry?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Our look, cherry is not just a cherry. A cherry
is about a number of things. It's about the obviously
the taste and the profile of it, but it's also
about the efficiency of our supply chains and how quickly
we can get our product up there into market and
that's one of the hallmarks of the New Zealand cherry
as well. It's fresh and it's got lovely purity, and
it's just a great eating experience here.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
And what about acreage here? Is that growing? Are people
planting or not?

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, Look, there has been recent investment into the industry,
which I guess is why we expect that top one
number to be grown, because you know, we need that
return on that investment. So there has been investment there.
There's also been some investment as well into improvement of
existing growing systems as well, which is I guess another
factor in terms of what's driving yield.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Good stuff, Dean good insight, appreciate it, Dean Smith. Some
of fruit News Hill another record that's good at one
hundred and twenty four million dollars. They've got a long
way to go to reach Kiwi fruit and grapes, of course,
grapes at a couple of billion and Kiwi fruit at
four billion. But we'll take it. We'll take anything. Never
for long term forecast, I don't notice long term forecast
because they might as well throw a darted aboard. But
they're suggesting this summer of ours continues. There's no real

(02:32):
rain in the forecast. It depends. I mean, you know,
you tell good news story like Cherry's fantastic lot of
farmers around the North Island. Parts of the North Island
at the moment really really struggling with the dry where
we are in the country, I notice, interestingly enough the
farm I look across the hill at all, across the
valley is still green. Green. Is not spring green, but
certainly not brown the way it has been some years.

(02:53):
So it very much depends on where you go around
the country, I guess. For more from the Mi Casking Breakfast,
listen live to News to Books at b from six
am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.