The New Zealand navel orange season is well underway. The country’s largest citrus grower, T&G Fresh, harvested the first of the navels late last month. Tom Chamberlain, T&G’s Regional Manager in Northland, spoke about great weather conditions and an earlier harvest: “This has been the trend all year up here in the sunny far north. We have seen earlier than usual harvest dates on all our citrus grown in and around Kerikeri. Earlier production on all crops has been the trend for much of New Zealand and harvest planning has changed as a result.”
T&G Fresh began harvesting the Taipa grown navel oranges on the 20th June, roughly 7-10 days earlier than last year’s harvest.
“Citrus NZ lead BrimA testing, to ensure customers get the best tasting fruit throughout the season. It means growers cannot supply fruit into the market until sugar levels are at an optimal level. T&G’s orchard has had a high pass rate this year, with 95% of blocks tested passing in the first round,” Chamberlain told tandg.global.
T&G Fresh is expecting to harvest around 500 tons of the fruit over the next three weeks, all being sold in New Zealand retail outlets.
