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Kind weather and efficiency gains have given kiwifruit exporter Zespri a head start to the picking season, helping it ward off the effects of the sector's labour shortage.
Zespri general manager, supply chain, Lain Jager said a fortnight of sunshine in the Bay of Plenty, where the exporter sourced most of its fruit, meant nearly 8 million trays of fruit were now packed and ready to set sail, compared with 7 million last year, when weather was less than ideal.
"We've been really lucky - we've had two weeks of fine weather," he said, adding that the flavour of the current harvest that began on March 26 had exceeded expections.
Despite the announcement in March that the sector faces a shortage of pickers, pay-off from industry investment in efficiency gains in the post-harvest sector was apparent, Zespri said.
James Trevelyan, operations manager for Te Puke-based Trevelyan's Pack and Cool, said improvements in facilities, such as a new campground to attract workers, had helped to achieve a full contingent of pickers, with full day and night shifts commencing this week.
"We've been able to get a lot more volume through earlier than we did last year and we're pleasantly surprised about the good quality of fruit coming through," he said.
The first of Zespri's fruit departed for Tokyo aboard the Asian Lavender on Tuesday last week, and ten more ships are due to sail for Japan, Europe, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Zerspri's main markets, over the next two weeks.
Jager said New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers had been actively working with the Government on bringing in more labour. "For the next two or three months the kiwifruit industry is hungry for all the labour it can get."
Trevelyan said the real strain would hit the sector in May when maxiumum picking capacity was needed.
