September 23, 2024 • 3 mins
New Zealand exported a record $3.1 billion worth of kiwifruit in the year to August, a 20 percent lift on the previous season.
The figure was largely made up of gold kiwifruit, jumping 24 percent on the previous year to a value of $2.4 billion.
Zespri Head of Global Public Affairs Michael Fox says this is great news for growers and businesses.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Can we throuit. Exports are the highest they've ever been,
hitting three point one billion dollars for the year to
the end of August. It's an increase of twenty percent,
as I was telling you earlier year on year, and
it's driven by the gold variety. Michael Fox is zespri's
head of global public affairs and with us Michael.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hello, gy here, how are you very well?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Thank you? Guys must be absolutely thrilled with us.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We are, and it's really great to see grohlers have
their tails up. Just the largest ever crop up about
forty five percent on last year, outseending fruit quality in
the markets performing really well. So it's good to see growls.
So confidence.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Why are people loving the gold at the moment? Or rather,
who is loving the gold?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Well? This we export more than fifty markets around the
world and gold is certainly a real growth category. But
green's also performing really strongly as well, and also having
a really good season in the market.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Is anybody in particular in the world who's who's into it?
Just everybody?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Oh? I think, well, I think lots of people and
hopefully more to come. But certainly China is a large
market and what we do say is is that you know,
the sweener tasting fruit is more suited to the Asian
powder than the Asian countries. Genuinely do love sun gold,
but we also see really strong growth. Our growth and
the likes of the yuiss is a really strong growth
market for US as well as as well as Europe.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
And how's the red coming along?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
It's coming along? Well, yes, that's Onny sort of two
or three years into commercialization and still small volumes, but
it generates a huge amount of excitement and market people
are really excited about that red color and the taste
of it, and we're really confident in that category as well.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, I mean the thing about it is because I
haven't actually tried a red Michael, so you've got to
tell me about this. The thing that I get excited
about is the color as well. What's the taste like?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
It depends on who you ask. I've heard guava, I've
heard berries. I've heard a mix of sun gold and berries.
So the beauty is in the beholder a little bit.
But it does taste good. It's different to green and gold,
and that's kind of what we do as we as
we are looking for new varieties to bring new consumers
to the category. But like I said, it is pretty
extraordinary how it excited people get about the red piece
of fruit and it gives us real confidence.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, that's pretty weird that it tastes like wava Hey, okay,
like weird in a good way. Weird in a good way.
I don't want to be disparaging of the thing. It
sounds awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
How we livid?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, how are you feeling after all of the stuff
that you guys have been through?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Are you through it? The stuff with the bad crops
and the mishandling and the mice and all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, that's a good point you MAKEE. So it has
been a couple of tough years if you go back
to COVID and the labor shortage, and that drove real
significant fruit quality issues and that took a lot of
value out of the industry. Last year we were down
about twenty percent on where we thought we'd be, and
that was just a range of sort of bad weather events.
But I think, you know, you talk to a lot
of people who have been around the industry for a
long time, and while it's you know, while it's it's
you know, they're still rebuilding and they're still challenges. You know,
(02:42):
the outlok from grows is a lot more optim the
stium it's been and I think this year the spring,
you know, the orchard are looking great, the weather is great.
So that's very early days in Touchwood, but hopefully that
confidence continues.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Good stuff, Michael, thank you, appreciate your time, and best
of luck with the season. That's Michael Fox, who's zizbriezehead
of Global public Affairs.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news Talks at b from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
Can we throuit. Exports are the highest they've ever been,
hitting three point one billion dollars for the year to
the end of August. It's an increase of twenty percent,
as I was telling you earlier year on year, and
it's driven by the gold variety. Michael Fox is zespri's
head of global public affairs and with us Michael.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hello, gy here, how are you very well?
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Thank you? Guys must be absolutely thrilled with us.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We are, and it's really great to see grohlers have
their tails up. Just the largest ever crop up about
forty five percent on last year, outseending fruit quality in
the markets performing really well. So it's good to see growls.
So confidence.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Why are people loving the gold at the moment? Or rather,
who is loving the gold?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Well? This we export more than fifty markets around the
world and gold is certainly a real growth category. But
green's also performing really strongly as well, and also having
a really good season in the market.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Is anybody in particular in the world who's who's into it?
Just everybody?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Oh? I think, well, I think lots of people and
hopefully more to come. But certainly China is a large
market and what we do say is is that you know,
the sweener tasting fruit is more suited to the Asian
powder than the Asian countries. Genuinely do love sun gold,
but we also see really strong growth. Our growth and
the likes of the yuiss is a really strong growth
market for US as well as as well as Europe.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
And how's the red coming along?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
It's coming along? Well, yes, that's Onny sort of two
or three years into commercialization and still small volumes, but
it generates a huge amount of excitement and market people
are really excited about that red color and the taste
of it, and we're really confident in that category as well.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Yeah, I mean the thing about it is because I
haven't actually tried a red Michael, so you've got to
tell me about this. The thing that I get excited
about is the color as well. What's the taste like?
Speaker 2 (01:41):
It depends on who you ask. I've heard guava, I've
heard berries. I've heard a mix of sun gold and berries.
So the beauty is in the beholder a little bit.
But it does taste good. It's different to green and gold,
and that's kind of what we do as we as
we are looking for new varieties to bring new consumers
to the category. But like I said, it is pretty
extraordinary how it excited people get about the red piece
of fruit and it gives us real confidence.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Yeah, that's pretty weird that it tastes like wava Hey, okay,
like weird in a good way. Weird in a good way.
I don't want to be disparaging of the thing. It
sounds awesome.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
How we livid?
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Yeah, how are you feeling after all of the stuff
that you guys have been through?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Are you through it? The stuff with the bad crops
and the mishandling and the mice and all that stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, that's a good point you MAKEE. So it has
been a couple of tough years if you go back
to COVID and the labor shortage, and that drove real
significant fruit quality issues and that took a lot of
value out of the industry. Last year we were down
about twenty percent on where we thought we'd be, and
that was just a range of sort of bad weather events.
But I think, you know, you talk to a lot
of people who have been around the industry for a
long time, and while it's you know, while it's it's
you know, they're still rebuilding and they're still challenges. You know,
(02:42):
the outlok from grows is a lot more optim the
stium it's been and I think this year the spring,
you know, the orchard are looking great, the weather is great.
So that's very early days in Touchwood, but hopefully that
confidence continues.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Good stuff, Michael, thank you, appreciate your time, and best
of luck with the season. That's Michael Fox, who's zizbriezehead
of Global public Affairs.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news Talks at b from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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