Apple season off to a good start

The apple season is well under way in the district, with March and April the busiest months of the season. Barbara Santos Pereira is full of smiles picking the crop. Pictures supplied

The Tairāwhiti apple harvest has been going since the beginning of February, with the Royal Gala variety the first picked in the country this season, and it has been going well.

Local apples have been packed and shipped to export customers in Asia.

“The first of the containers shipped will be arriving in markets this week and include key apple markets of China, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan,” said Kaiaponi Farms general manager Scott Wilson.

“Growers are pleased to be harvesting their apples in a good East Coast summer after the weather challenges of the last season —welcome back El Nino.”

Mr Wilson said the fruit quality was back, better than expected, with high export packout recoveries being achieved by local growers.

“The national crop is forecast to be 21.2 million cartons, with Gisborne — now the third largest growing region in the country — expected to produce 918,000 cartons this season, up 51 percent on 2023.”

Most of the Gisborne Royal Gala crop was now picked and packed, and growers have now started to pick the other later apple varieties — Dazzle, Rockit and Jazz, he said.

Later this month the Envy apple harvest will start and run through until mid-April.

“Envy is a big apple and represents approximately 50 percent of the apple volume currently grown in Tairāwhiti.

“So, the workload and the pace are still to pick up,” Mr Wilson said.

“March and April are our busiest months for apples and with the kiwifruit season also starting up, there is plenty of work available in a range of horticultural jobs in the region.

“This growth won’t stop,” he said.

“Apple trees have continued to be planted in Tairāwhiti and we are recognised as a premium growing district for the fruit, with the advantage of being early to market.

“We know our local apple consumers have found it hard to find an apple on the supermarket shelf in January 2024 due to the reduced national crop in 2023.

“But our apples are now back on the shelves. There should be plenty of fresh apples now available and they will be readily available for the next 12 months.

“Nothing beats a Gisborne-grown apple — enjoy!”