Grower confidence has returned and values have bounced back, New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers president Neil Trebilco said.
"[The new valuations] just confirm what growers already know anecdotally. With Psa, orchards closed. There's been a strong bounce back in grower confidence in the last 12 months."
Mr Trebilco said growers were "absolutely" still in recovery mode from Psa and higher rates would hit them in the back pocket, but for most the increase was a small cost compared with the overall expense of running an orchard.
"Any increases in costs certainly aren't welcome by growers, bearing in mind some growers still aren't producing the same amount in production they were prior to Psa.
"Rates are quite a large expense, but the larger expense is running the orchard. In terms of per cent of costs, it would vary orchard to orchard but it would certainly be less than 10 per cent, maybe even 5 per cent."
Papamoa grower Rob Thode said valuations of orchards varied greatly depending on location.
"In some cases I think orchards have risen above Psa levels but others are still in a very bare land value. The reality is it's a very mixed bag."
Mr Thode's orchard itself was a mixed bag, with some lots still affected heavily by Psa. The 7ha property next to his is now maize fields, he said.
The rates rises would hit some growers hard, he said.
"Psa isn't a short-term disease. If we have a really cold patch with rain, Psa goes nuts. I'm starting to recover but it's still going to take another five years."
Former Te Puke grower John Allen was one to take advantage of increasing valuations. In May, he sold his orchard for close to his pre-Psa valuation of $2.1 million and bought a grazing block in his hometown, Whangarei.
His 2011 valuation had his orchard at about $1.3 million, near 50 per cent of its previous value.
When orchard prices began rising again, Mr Allen decided to go on the market to see what happened and sold his property in three weeks.
"People obviously have confidence Psa is under control and can live with it and manage it because it's never going away."
Valuations Q&A
-Why does the council keep and update property valuations?
The General Rate is assessed on the capital value of your property and roading rates are assessed on the land value. They could also, in terms of legislation, be based on the capital value of your property, which is a mix of land valuation plus improvement valuation, or the annual value of your property, which is based on the capital value of your property, which is why Council updates valuations of all properties.
- What is the "Capital Value"?
This is the assessment of the probable freehold unencumbered price that would have been paid if the property had been for sale at the date of the latest general revaluation. The valuation will not include chattels, stock, crops, machinery or trees. The valuation is deemed to include GST, if any, for the residential property and exclude GST for other types of property.
-What is "Land Value"?
This is the probable freehold unencumbered price that would be paid for the bare land as at the date of valuation. The Land Value includes any development work that may have been carried out.
- Western Bay
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