Seeka innovates in Australia

Seeka are now in their third year of Australian fruit production after buying Bunbartha Fruit Packers in 2015, situated near Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley. There has been huge investment in the 565 hectare property, including extending the main packhouse and cold storage. 2018 has been a harder year with a very dry summer, while fruit quality and taste was exceptional – fruit volumes were lower than expected.

At the moment across all varieties there is 260ha of orchards in full production, with approximately another 60ha in development and still to reach commercial volumes. In addition to this, there is another 165ha owned by Seeka able to be developed. This is a large scale orcharding enterprise in Shepparton, Victoria with kiwifruit, nashi and European pears as the major varieties. The main harvest season for Seeka Australia is February to June.

The main kiwifruit production has ended for the season and despite a very dry spell, 2.5 million kilos were produced. "Our season runs from mid March until June," explains Ryan Donovan, Operations Manager. "The 2018 summer was very dry, and this affected fruit size but not quality or eating experience."

Seeka is the biggest kiwifruit and Nashi pear grower in Australia and will supply the Australian market with kiwifruit until August. The green Hayward variety is by far the biggest product.

80% goes to the Australian domestic market with the other 20% exported to Europe and Asia. “The key export programs are really to manage capacity”, Ryan explained. “They facilitate throughput and turnover through the packhouse and coolstores and allow us to continue the harvest”.

Seeka is focussed on the environment, "It is a significantly different environment from our traditional growing base in New Zealand. There are two fundamental differences being the temperature in the Summer – where there are high temperatures and sunshine hours every day and a lack of water. The heat and sunshine hours delivers a great tasting fruit but water management is essential. Seeka has actively managed and purchased water, and continues to invest ahead of its new developments coming into production. Each hectare of kiwifruit required between 10 and 12 mega litres of water [mega = million]. The Goulburn Valley operates a world class irrigation system with the primary source being the massive Lake Eildon, along with the Gouburn Weir, Waranga Basin and Greens Lake. The water comes from the Eildon dam some 200Km away and is is channelled into all of the agricultural areas along the way. Water is not only used for irrigation but also used for frost fighting in the spring.

Seeka has brought its innovation to Australia. There was a shortage of kiwifruit plants in Australia with a long waiting time. So Seeka established their own nursery on the property producing 70,000 new plants in its second year. While most are used for replacement plants and new developments, some have been sold to third parties.

The company has 50 -60 permanent employees and around 300 employees at the height of the season. Access to labour is an issue for Seeka in Australia. There is a shortage of local people to undertake the work at peak times and traditionally the business has relied on backpackers to complement the local workforce to get the job done. In 2018 Seeka will hire 12 workers from the Solomon Islands on a government program for a 6 month stretch.

In addition to the kiwifruit Seeka produces around 1800 tons of nashi and 1500 tonnes of European pears. These varieties grow on areas or soils typically not suited to kiwifruit. The company is introducing new pears to the market, these pears have a higher yield and present a different taste and eating experience – where we are expecting great consumer demand both locally and for export. Pear production has a high cost and the company continues to look at its growing techniques or varieties to deliver the consumer a great eating product, at the lowest possible price.

For more information:

Michael Franks

Tel: +64 21 356 516
Email: Michael.Franks@seeka.co.nz