WELLINGTON: After being ranked in the World Apple Report as the world’s most competitive performing country for apple production, New Zealand’s apple industry has also set its sights on topping the $1billion mark for exports by 2022. This comes as the sector reported its highest harvest on record for the 2015 season, yielding 550,000 tonnes, up 13 per cent on the year before and likely to surge further with plantings of more trees over the present season. Bayleys New Zealand country manager, Simon Anderson, said the optimism was supported with evidence of a surge in buyer interest in good quality apple orchards that had potential for further expansion.
Bayleys Havelock North rural agent, Kris August, said the Hawke’s Bay region was evolving into a two-tier market for apple orchards. “We have people who are interested in buying something that is essentially a lifestyle block that has a house and apples on it, and then we have very strong interest in orchard land blocks that don’t have dwellings upon them for purely commercial production.”
People purchasing smaller lifestyle type blocks were finding the opportunity to lease the apple orchard back to the large orcharding companies such as Bostock and Mr Apple. But owners could expect a good level of return from their lifestyle investment, with companies paying about $5000-$5500 a hectare as standard lease rates.
Meantime, bare land blocks, already planted, were proving to be in tight supply through the region, with orchard investors paying about $150,000 a hectare for blocks with trees already on them. Nationally the Hawke’s Bay remains the major apple growing region, accounting for two-thirds of the national crop, with a quarter coming out of Nelson and 7per cent spread between Otago, Canterbury, Wairarapa, Waikato and Gisborne.
Pipfruit New Zealand chief executive, Alan Pollard, said all growing regions were experiencing increased industry investment with prospects of a million more new apple trees being planted across the country amidst soaring international demand for our apples. The peak industry body expects planted area to increase by about 1700 hectares by 2020, with most of the growth focused in the Hawke’s Bay.
“Through new exclusive varieties, world leading on-orchard practices focused on producing the freshest, tastiest and safest fruit, New Zealand developed world leading post-harvest technology and sophisticated international marketing, the New Zealand apple has moved over the years from being a commodity to a high-value, niche premium product.” The investment in 1 million trees represented an additional $15million of spend on trees alone. With a $700 million export harvest this season the $1.0 billion target sits tantalisingly close and Pollard said the sector was now ahead of realising that goal by 2022.
