The apple harvest has been slow to start in New Zealand this season, but now the Royal Gala harvest is in full swing. The last two seasons have been extremely wet and last year growers were hit by a cyclone right at the start of harvest, but it is looking a lot more positive so far this year.
"We started early out of the Gisborne region, with Hawkes Bay and Nelson slowly following," said Kurt Livingston, Export Sales Executive at Fern Ridge Fresh. "After two record wet seasons it has been great to have a warm dry summer. This been a huge contributing factor to the high-quality fruit we are harvesting and packing currently."
Volume is up across the board this season as most blocks bounce back from last year. Royal Gala size seems to be slightly down across all regions, but the fruit has sized nicely in the lead up to harvest.
PiqaBoo® pears
"Many blocks that suffered flooding and silt damage from last year's cyclone have bounced back because of the hard work growers have put in to clean the properties. It has been a huge ongoing job to restore damaged blocks, and it has shown the resilience that New Zealand growers and farmers must have to stay in business and continue to grow the highest quality crops in this ever-changing environment."
Fern Ridge Fresh are continuing to promote the growth of PiqaBoo® pears and have more new orchards coming online this year and next year. "We are excited about the prospects of this variety in Asia this season. The brix is at an all-time high, so we are expecting an amazing eating experience for consumers. We will have a strong focus on the Asian markets again this season. We are seeing good early demand for Gala strains in China. We also have solid programs in the Middle East, Canada, Europe and India. For KORU® we are looking forward to building demand in key markets again this year."
KORU® apples
KORU® Branding
"We have invested in refreshing the KORU® brand, and are excited to launch the new 
logo and branding in market this season. The design for this new logo is based on the range of personality traits that the KORU® apple shows. 'Dependable, Endearing, Genuine, Wholesome'. We are planning a range of promotional activities in market to help build awareness of the new brand."
Kurt said that the situation in the Red Sea is certainly complicating logistics as they plan their European programs for the season. "This has added a significant cost to all shipments heading to Europe and also extending the transit time up to 2 weeks. We are still confident with our European sales as the fruit is great quality this season, so will certainly hold up to the longer transit."
For more information:
Kurt Livingston
Fern Ridge Fresh
Tel: +64 6 651 2646
kurt@fernridgefresh.nz
www.fernridgefresh.nz