AU: Governor General's avocado tour
The Watchorn’s hosted Governor General Sir Jerry Mataparae on Thursday, where Maria says they were amused by the fact the Governor had never seen an avocado tree before.
"He came to visit our orchard, and it was the first avocado tree – he had never seen an avocado tree until he came onto our property.
"I think he was quite shocked, I don’t think he thought they were going to be such lovely, lush trees. We worked hard to get the orchard looking pristine.
"He really thought avocado trees were beautiful trees."
Also as part of his tour, Sir Jerry visited the Zespri HQ in Mount Maunganui before going on to the Apata packhouse and Watchorn’s orchard on Prole Road, Omokoroa.
Maria says the Governor General is a "lovely, warm, approachable" person who really likes avocados.
"He got a tray of avocados to take back to Wellington with him."
This season’s avocado crop is looking good for the Watchorns, but they don't know about their fellow growers.
"I cannot say that about the whole industry, because of the on-off season’s for people.
"Because of bi-annual bearing, some people are not able to produce a crop every year. There are some growers out there that have a very, very light crop, if any at all.
"We are fortunate enough to get another really good crop, good fruit, good sizes. The season for us has been very good.”
On the orchard, Maria says they use a range of innovative techniques to improve fruit production.
"We have fully automated frost protection systems in place and the water comes from a bore that is slightly warmed, that is fully automated computerised system."
Apata coolstore manager Ian Tangney speaks with the Governor General.
The last season was one of the largest Australia had ever known, though sadly this had an effect of diminishing returns somewhat as the excess volume flooded the markets with low cost produce.
"As a grower, the impact is the price. Our normal tray payout has been reduced."
Maria says although they have not received the final payout, it is estimated returns will be down by $5-$7 per tray, compared to last year.
"With the Australian market swamped by both New Zealand and more Australian fruit than anticipated, it has brought the price down."
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