Recent strong winds and unseasonal rainfall have disrupted the New Zealand cherry season, resulting in delayed harvests and crop damage in several regions. In Central Otago, growers reported fruit rubbing during spring winds, leading to higher rejection rates.
Mike Casey of Electric Cherries said pack-out rates for export have fallen compared with a standard season.
"Usually when we pick for export, we are packing about 95% of the cherries, and this year, we've had more like 20% end up as waste rather than 5%."
Summerfruit New Zealand reported intermittent harvesting to date due to weather, and initial domestic sales were affected by Cook Strait ferry delays. Despite early setbacks, later timing may benefit exporters.
Cherry exports to China and Taiwan reached 559.5 tons in 2025. With the Chinese New Year taking place from 17 February to 3 March this season, the later holiday aligns with delayed fruit maturity.
"This late season could be to the grower's advantage, especially if the weather really heats up in Central Otago," said Andrew Bristol of Summerfruit New Zealand.
"As a result, we're trying to do our part to change the culture and the knowledge of New Zealand that cherries are a great treat to start the year on a high note. Going back to work, having cherries in the fruit bowl is a fantastic way of keeping people's spirits up when they may have a bit of post-holiday blues. That's what we're trying to work on at the moment; we're doing a lot of mail orders of our export buying to New Zealanders."
According to Bristol, recent sales volumes have strengthened, with larger fruit moving through the system without prolonged storage.
"Fruit is not hanging around in cool stores looking for a home. The slight general shortage is helping all our fruit types, and even fruit on promotion is selling at relatively high values."
Electric Cherries, operating for six years and supplying supermarkets in Wanaka for the first time this season, is increasing domestic distribution.
"My goal is to try to scale up the amount of cherries we sell to our export market to New Zealanders. What we try to do is sell at the same gate return as what we would get if we shipped to Taiwan or China. The farmer has to pay to ship all their produce overseas to market. The exporter handles shipping overseas, the importer buys cherries from the exporters and the retailers buy the cherries from the importer. Usually, the retail customer is paying something like three times what the farmer gets by the time it's done."
Casey added that Electric Cherries operates without fossil fuel energy and aims to expand its electrification model.
Source: Hort News
