The kiwifruit harvest has now begun in the Bay of Plenty with picking taking place from Ōpōtiki to Katikati over the coming days.
The 2021 season is forecast to be another record-breaking year with more kiwifruit produced than ever before, overtaking last year's record of 157 million trays of Green and Gold. On average, each tray has around 30 pieces of kiwifruit.
The Gold variety is usually picked first, followed by Green kiwifruit in late March. Harvest peaks in mid-April and runs through until June.
More than 80 per cent of New Zealand's kiwifruit are grown in the Bay of Plenty across 10,000 hectares of orchards.
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc (NZKGI) chief executive Nikki Johnson said the region was shaping up to produce high-quality kiwifruit meaning consumers could anticipate a great tasting product coming to supermarket shelves.