Te Mata Export's New Zealand apple season is under way with the first picking of their exclusive a1™ variety on 5th February, about a week later than expected. Te Mata predominantly source apples from Hawke's Bay growers whom they have worked in partnership with for many years. The company also have a small volume of own production in Hawke's Bay.
"It seems that most varieties in Hawke's Bay are running around a week late," said Sarah McCormack CEO at Te Mata. "We are fortunate that we are not suffering any consequences from last year's cyclone, the trees seem to have recovered remarkably well and are back to full production. The overall size seems to be slightly smaller than average, however the colour and quality is the best we have seen in a few years."
Te Mata's a1™ variety, which is an early season, block red variety has just arrived in Asia.
"Our first containers arrived in China and Vietnam and the feedback from customers has been very positive. We have got a total of 100ha either being planted or about to be planted in both Gisborne and Hawke's Bay. We plan to do some promotional activity in key markets next year once our volumes start to increase. We are also the exclusive license holders for SnapDragon® and Cosmic Crisp® in New Zealand and this year our growers will be harvesting their first volumes of both varieties and we will be sending samples out to all of our customers so they can try these two exciting varieties."
As well as these exclusive varieties, Te Mata have good volumes of other varieties such as Royal Gala, Queen and Fuji available, and are able to offer their customers a full basket of varieties according to their needs.
"We ship to a range of markets across Asia, Europe and North America. It looks like we are in for a challenging season as many of our key markets are dealing with high inflation which impacts consumer purchasing power. The cost of production in New Zealand has increased a lot over the past couple of years so the price we need to achieve in market for a box of apples is a lot more than it was previously. Given the current economic conditions many countries are facing it will be difficult to achieve the prices we need to, particularly as we are also having to compete with other southern hemisphere producers offering fruit at very low levels. Fortunately, New Zealand's reputation as being a producer of good quality apples means that there is still good demand for our fruit and we can achieve a premium."
The situation in the Red Sea will make shipping into Europe more difficult as most vessels will have to go around South Africa to reach their final destination which will add extra time and expense. "Demand in Europe is looking a lot better than previous years so it's a shame that we have to contend with shipping issues this season."
For more information:
Sarah McCormack
Te Mata Exports
Tel: +64 21 622 768
Sarah@temataexports.com
www.temataexports.co.nz