Kiwifruit casualty from freak hail storm

Hail storm hits the Bay. Photo/George Novak

A freak hail storm which hammered parts of the Bay of Plenty last week have damaged about 10 per cent of local kiwifruit stocks.

Bay of Plenty kiwifruit growers have reported about a 10 per cent drop of their crop after losses to their fruit canopy from Thursday's hail storm, which significantly impacted orchards in the Mangatawa, Welcome Bay, Kairua Rd area.

Avocado orchards were impacted too.

Image 1 of 24: Jennifer Kerr sent in this photo of Xander and Lily Kerr

Seeka announced this morning it was working to help a group of growers affected.

Chief executive Michael Franks said overall, the damage seemed less severe than was initially feared and represented only a small percentage of Seeka's expected supply for the coming harvest season.

It would take some time before the total losses in terms of trays could be estimated and a small number of growers had incurred significant damage, he said.

Seeka was also advising growers on how to mitigate any possible Psa-V risk for damaged crops, he said.

About 35 hectares of orchards that Seeka supplied have suffered significant damage, with another 50 to 75 hectares that were less affected. The majority of damage was in kiwifruit orchards.