September 22, 2024 • 10 mins
Last week, Kerre was fortunate to MC the New Zealand Citrus Growers conference in Gisborne/Tai Rawhiti.
There were many fantastic stories about how the region and growers have bounced back after Cyclone Gabrielle.
However, there was also a warning on the horizon about a real danger to the industry – one that we can all help keep a watch on and prevent from taking hold here.
CEO of First Fresh NZ and Citrus NZ board member, Ian Albers joins Kerre Woodham to discuss the challenges facing the industry here in NZ.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the carry Wood of Morning's podcast from
News Talk sed.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
B Now last week and I did mention I was
fortunate enough to visit Tatafati, Gisbon to EMC the New
Zealand Citrus Girls Conference. I don't have to do much,
I'm saying, it's more sort of an after dinner thing,
but I did a tidy bit of em sing and
it was just so fascinating to meet so many of
the growers and to hear the stories from the region
(00:31):
and how growers are bouncing back after cyclone Gabriel. However,
while I was also chatting to grows, there was also
a warning on the horizon, and I didn't hear the
speech from the American guests at the conference, Citrus Girls
from Florida, about a real danger to the industry globally,
one that we can all help keep a watch on
(00:53):
them prevent from taking hold. Here joining me now is
the CEO of First Fresh and Zed and Citrus New
Zealand board member Ian elbers Ian Morning to.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
You, morning, carry How are you very very well?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Thank you? Like I've just this minute in the last
break enjoyed an orange from Gisbon. How on earth is
there even one orange coming up? Far less supermarkets full
of them after Gabrielle devastated the region last year.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah, it's certainly been a challenge over the last couple
of years, really, and I think Cyclone Gabriel was probably
the icing on the cake in that regard. We've had
a couple of really wet seasons, but I think you know,
all and all growers are bouncing back. We were a
pretty resilient bunch up here or down here, and I
(01:44):
guess it's testament to their fortitude and their ability to
grow good fruit.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But how did they do it? Like we all saw
the images of the silk piling up did once you
removed the silk with the trees still there or was them?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It was very much horses for courses. I think we
saw some growers that were completely devastated, whereas there was
still quite a large number of growers that were not
badly affected. So once the water drained away, there wasn't
a lot of salt in this event compared to say
Cyclam Bowler and and really for us, it's been the
(02:21):
wet weather after Cyclone Gabriel that really knocked the trees around.
They just don't like wet feet and so yeah, I
mean it's because it's been drier over the last few months.
We're seeing a much better response from the trees.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh, they're resilient too, along with the growers, aren't they
if they can't survive all that?
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Absolutely? Yeah. And you know the naval oranges in New
Zealand that are thirty forty years old, So yeah, have
you got.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Enough packers to get the fruit to market?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I think labor availability has definitely improved this year compared
compared to say, during the COVID period, and we're seeing
a lot of backpackers returning to New Zealand, which is great.
And I think it's been generally has a good a
good supply of that seasonal labor pool and so it's
(03:15):
been pretty good this year all in all.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, is this a good year or are you still
looking towards sort of the jackpot year? Building towards the jackpot?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Yeah, I think we're always looking for the jackpot. Yeah.
As I said, we're kind of rebuilding after a couple
of week years. And you know, this year we've seen
fruit size on average has been down a little bit,
yields have been down, but fruit quality has been excellent.
(03:47):
So I'm hoping that with the kind of spring conditions
we're seeing at the moment, that we're going to have
a fabulous season in twenty five.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well, it's tasting pretty good, sofa like after the after
taking a couple of knocks with the weather and with
the weather events not just your ordinary run of the
mill weather. How hard is it to get people to
stay in the industry. I know when I visited Nelson,
in the regions around there, it was really difficult for
(04:18):
the apple growers to get the kids to take over
the farm because the kids took one look at how
hard their parents had worked and thought not for me.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I think we've seen the same here in terms of
succession and that having met longevity in terms of the
family owning the orchard and keeping the orchard going. So
I think, you know, what we are seeing is where
those growers want to stay on the land. They might
want to lease their blocks or have somebody else manage
(04:50):
those blocks, and our key thing is really that they
stay in citrus.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
How do you do that? How do you sell it
as a multi generational business when you are so utterly
does it have to be some thing that's in your
bones being a grower, you're so dependent on other factors.
You know, you you can work hard and be a
good person and be a good grower and know your
stuff and still get a kick in the guts.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Oh absolutely, And that's that's the challenging facet of the
industry really and and for any grower is having knowing
that you've done everything right and then whether a vent
or or some other calamity can come along and ruin it.
So I think we're starting to see, you know, some
(05:39):
new varieties coming through and that's providing some buoyancy in
the industry. And we're looking at some programs through Citrus
New Zealand called Future Orchide, which is really looking around innovation,
new varieties, new growing techniques and some other things that
should help growers become a bit more resilient and look
(06:03):
into the future.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Is that to make is that more weather resilient crops
or sexy crops that are going to attract buyers or
things that will bridge the seasons.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Of all of that really all of that. Yeah, I think,
you know, we are looking at some new varieties that
that where that are getting released around the world, things
like seedless lemons, some seedless mandarins that are coming through,
which is really that global trend around easy peel and
seedless and so it's really just making product available that
(06:40):
consumers want to buy and eat.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Okay, Now, one of the threats too is that terrible
bacteria bug thing. I don't even know what you call it.
What is it? It's the Asian and African citrus.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, it's how long blink, how long bing or HLB
for short. So it's a it's a citrus disease. It's
spread by an insect called the Asian citrus salid and
that ever got into New Zealand and got established, then
it would decimate the industry.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's decimated in Florida. It's a drought and that have
devastated Brazil's crops and you can't get rid of it,
can you?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
No? I think we had Nate and Anna Jamison from
Florida down in New Zealand to address the conference and
they talked about I think they said that over a
billion dollars has been spent in the US on trying
to eradicate it, control it, and find new techniques for
(07:48):
growing citrus. And they're still struggling to make it work,
so we need to.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Keep it out. One of the guys was telling me
that a woman had imported, you know, brought some shoes online.
They arrived, she opened the box and there were all
these bugs in the box. She put the lid on
straight away, which shows very quickly, and rang MPI, which
is even quicker thinking. And it turned out they were
those bugs which could have devastated the industry. How can
(08:16):
people be on watch for something like this because you
can't expect customs to pick up everything.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
No, you can't. And I haven't heard the shoe box story,
but and there was an I know there was an
incident a few years ago in Australia where there was
some bud would imported illegally in the tube tire I
think it was, and that bud would was found to
be infected with HLB. So look, we can't be too careful,
(08:45):
I think, you know. My advice is, if you're traveling
overseas and you've been on an orchard or in the
wilderness or whatever, declare it and make your way through
customs and they'll they'll look after you from that point
of view. And really, I mean probably it's going to
come in on illegally imported plant material. It's not going
(09:07):
to come in on imported fruit, or it's very unlikely
to come in on imported fruit. So it's really just
being vigilant around those importations of bud wood and things
like that.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And there's an app too, isn't there an MPI app?
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Yeah, it's a great little app called Find a Pest
and you can download that from I think the Apple
Store or anywhere one yeah and yeah, and so go
on to that and it has pictures of different insects
and pests and diseases by industry and you can use
that to identify things. And it's especially useful for growers
(09:45):
where they can find things that, you know, they might
see something in the orchard that they hadn't seen before
and then use that app to try and identify it
or at least alert MPI to what they've found.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Absolutely, we can all be soldiers. Thank you, ian Ian
l the CEO, First Fresh End Zed and such as
New Zealand board member.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
For more from kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news Talks at b from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the carry Wood of Morning's podcast from
News Talk sed.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
B Now last week and I did mention I was
fortunate enough to visit Tatafati, Gisbon to EMC the New
Zealand Citrus Girls Conference. I don't have to do much,
I'm saying, it's more sort of an after dinner thing,
but I did a tidy bit of em sing and
it was just so fascinating to meet so many of
the growers and to hear the stories from the region
(00:31):
and how growers are bouncing back after cyclone Gabriel. However,
while I was also chatting to grows, there was also
a warning on the horizon, and I didn't hear the
speech from the American guests at the conference, Citrus Girls
from Florida, about a real danger to the industry globally,
one that we can all help keep a watch on
(00:53):
them prevent from taking hold. Here joining me now is
the CEO of First Fresh and Zed and Citrus New
Zealand board member Ian elbers Ian Morning to.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
You, morning, carry How are you very very well?
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Thank you? Like I've just this minute in the last
break enjoyed an orange from Gisbon. How on earth is
there even one orange coming up? Far less supermarkets full
of them after Gabrielle devastated the region last year.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah, it's certainly been a challenge over the last couple
of years, really, and I think Cyclone Gabriel was probably
the icing on the cake in that regard. We've had
a couple of really wet seasons, but I think you know,
all and all growers are bouncing back. We were a
pretty resilient bunch up here or down here, and I
(01:44):
guess it's testament to their fortitude and their ability to
grow good fruit.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
But how did they do it? Like we all saw
the images of the silk piling up did once you
removed the silk with the trees still there or was them?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
It was very much horses for courses. I think we
saw some growers that were completely devastated, whereas there was
still quite a large number of growers that were not
badly affected. So once the water drained away, there wasn't
a lot of salt in this event compared to say
Cyclam Bowler and and really for us, it's been the
(02:21):
wet weather after Cyclone Gabriel that really knocked the trees around.
They just don't like wet feet and so yeah, I
mean it's because it's been drier over the last few months.
We're seeing a much better response from the trees.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oh, they're resilient too, along with the growers, aren't they
if they can't survive all that?
Speaker 3 (02:41):
Absolutely? Yeah. And you know the naval oranges in New
Zealand that are thirty forty years old, So yeah, have
you got.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Enough packers to get the fruit to market?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:54):
I think labor availability has definitely improved this year compared
compared to say, during the COVID period, and we're seeing
a lot of backpackers returning to New Zealand, which is great.
And I think it's been generally has a good a
good supply of that seasonal labor pool and so it's
(03:15):
been pretty good this year all in all.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, is this a good year or are you still
looking towards sort of the jackpot year? Building towards the jackpot?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Yeah, I think we're always looking for the jackpot. Yeah.
As I said, we're kind of rebuilding after a couple
of week years. And you know, this year we've seen
fruit size on average has been down a little bit,
yields have been down, but fruit quality has been excellent.
(03:47):
So I'm hoping that with the kind of spring conditions
we're seeing at the moment, that we're going to have
a fabulous season in twenty five.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well, it's tasting pretty good, sofa like after the after
taking a couple of knocks with the weather and with
the weather events not just your ordinary run of the
mill weather. How hard is it to get people to
stay in the industry. I know when I visited Nelson,
in the regions around there, it was really difficult for
(04:18):
the apple growers to get the kids to take over
the farm because the kids took one look at how
hard their parents had worked and thought not for me.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
I think we've seen the same here in terms of
succession and that having met longevity in terms of the
family owning the orchard and keeping the orchard going. So
I think, you know, what we are seeing is where
those growers want to stay on the land. They might
want to lease their blocks or have somebody else manage
(04:50):
those blocks, and our key thing is really that they
stay in citrus.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
How do you do that? How do you sell it
as a multi generational business when you are so utterly
does it have to be some thing that's in your
bones being a grower, you're so dependent on other factors.
You know, you you can work hard and be a
good person and be a good grower and know your
stuff and still get a kick in the guts.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Oh absolutely, And that's that's the challenging facet of the
industry really and and for any grower is having knowing
that you've done everything right and then whether a vent
or or some other calamity can come along and ruin it.
So I think we're starting to see, you know, some
(05:39):
new varieties coming through and that's providing some buoyancy in
the industry. And we're looking at some programs through Citrus
New Zealand called Future Orchide, which is really looking around innovation,
new varieties, new growing techniques and some other things that
should help growers become a bit more resilient and look
(06:03):
into the future.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
Is that to make is that more weather resilient crops
or sexy crops that are going to attract buyers or
things that will bridge the seasons.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Of all of that really all of that. Yeah, I think,
you know, we are looking at some new varieties that
that where that are getting released around the world, things
like seedless lemons, some seedless mandarins that are coming through,
which is really that global trend around easy peel and
seedless and so it's really just making product available that
(06:40):
consumers want to buy and eat.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Okay, Now, one of the threats too is that terrible
bacteria bug thing. I don't even know what you call it.
What is it? It's the Asian and African citrus.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Yeah, it's how long blink, how long bing or HLB
for short. So it's a it's a citrus disease. It's
spread by an insect called the Asian citrus salid and
that ever got into New Zealand and got established, then
it would decimate the industry.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's decimated in Florida. It's a drought and that have
devastated Brazil's crops and you can't get rid of it,
can you?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
No? I think we had Nate and Anna Jamison from
Florida down in New Zealand to address the conference and
they talked about I think they said that over a
billion dollars has been spent in the US on trying
to eradicate it, control it, and find new techniques for
(07:48):
growing citrus. And they're still struggling to make it work,
so we need to.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Keep it out. One of the guys was telling me
that a woman had imported, you know, brought some shoes online.
They arrived, she opened the box and there were all
these bugs in the box. She put the lid on
straight away, which shows very quickly, and rang MPI, which
is even quicker thinking. And it turned out they were
those bugs which could have devastated the industry. How can
(08:16):
people be on watch for something like this because you
can't expect customs to pick up everything.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
No, you can't. And I haven't heard the shoe box story,
but and there was an I know there was an
incident a few years ago in Australia where there was
some bud would imported illegally in the tube tire I
think it was, and that bud would was found to
be infected with HLB. So look, we can't be too careful,
(08:45):
I think, you know. My advice is, if you're traveling
overseas and you've been on an orchard or in the
wilderness or whatever, declare it and make your way through
customs and they'll they'll look after you from that point
of view. And really, I mean probably it's going to
come in on illegally imported plant material. It's not going
(09:07):
to come in on imported fruit, or it's very unlikely
to come in on imported fruit. So it's really just
being vigilant around those importations of bud wood and things
like that.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And there's an app too, isn't there an MPI app?
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Yeah, it's a great little app called Find a Pest
and you can download that from I think the Apple
Store or anywhere one yeah and yeah, and so go
on to that and it has pictures of different insects
and pests and diseases by industry and you can use
that to identify things. And it's especially useful for growers
(09:45):
where they can find things that, you know, they might
see something in the orchard that they hadn't seen before
and then use that app to try and identify it
or at least alert MPI to what they've found.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Absolutely, we can all be soldiers. Thank you, ian Ian
l the CEO, First Fresh End Zed and such as
New Zealand board member.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
For more from kerry Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news Talks at b from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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