Te Puke's Clarisa Gibney harvests the first kiwifruit crop of the season, which is also the first commercial crop of Zespri RubyRed. Photo / Jamie Troughton - Dscribe Media
Te Puke's Clarisa Gibney harvests the first kiwifruit crop of the season, which is also the first commercial crop of Zespri RubyRed. Photo / Jamie Troughton - Dscribe Media
New Zealand's 2022 kiwifruit harvest has started with the first crop being picked this morning in Te Puke and more kiwifruit to be picked around New Zealand over the coming months.
But there are fears around the supply chain and workforce with the outbreak of Omicron in the community.
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated said in a statement the 2022 season had the potential to be another record-breaking year with more kiwifruit produced than ever before.
A forecast of at least 190 million trays would need to be harvested, overtaking last year's record of more than 177 million trays. On average, each tray has about 30 kiwifruit.
Zespri's new RubyRed variety would be picked first and would then followed by the Gold and Green varieties. The harvest traditionally peaked in mid-April and ran through until June.
The sweet, berry-tinged tasting Red kiwifruit would also be picked for supermarket shelves in New Zealand and some overseas markets this year. This year would be the first year that RubyRed would be sold as a commercial variety.
Zespri chief executive Daniel Mathieson (right) and orchard owner Gopa Bains look over the first commercial Zespri RubyRed harvest near Te Puke. Photo / Jamie Troughton - Dscribe Media
Zespri's chief grower, industry and sustainability officer, Carol Ward said the harvest would follow all Government protocols.
"As well as a continued increase in our SunGold Kiwifruit volumes this season, we're excited for the first year of commercial volumes of Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit which we know is keenly anticipated by our consumers in New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and China."
The success of the 2022 kiwifruit harvest hinged on the ability of the industry's supply chain to operate effectively under the quickly changing Covid-19 settings, the statement said.
The industry required 24,000 people to pick and pack the crop. However, forecast surges in Covid-19 infection rates were expected to restrict the availability of New Zealanders.
In addition, the opening of New Zealand's borders was expected to be too late to replace the 6500 backpackers required for harvest.
New Zealand had about 2800 growers who produced kiwifruit across over 13,000 hectares of orchards between Kerikeri in the north and Motueka in the south.
NZKGI chief executive Colin Bond. Photo / Supplied
NZKGI chief executive Colin Bond said the industry had built experience over the past two years on how to operate a harvest under Covid-19 restrictions.
"The health and safety of our workforce is our first priority and NZKGI is working continually with government agencies to develop operational processes to mitigate Covid-19 infections.
"The industry was working collaboratively to do everything we can to get all the fruit off the vines – and that must be done in a way which puts our people first."
This year also 2022 marked NZKGI's fourth year of its labour attraction campaign, to attract seasonal workers to pick and pack in the harvest.
"I strongly encourage everyone to roll up their sleeves and join the team to harvest this iconic piece of Kiwiana.
"Picking is a great opportunity for those who like to be in the outdoors, while the packhouse is suited to those who like to have fun in larger teams indoors," Bond said.
