Hawke's Bay Wattie's tomato growers haul in biggest harvest in 50 years

Hawke's Bay Watties tomato growers have produced an all-time record crop, harvesting a total of 39,000 metric tonnes this season or 140 metric tonnes per hectare. Photo / Supplied

Wattie's tomato growers in Hawke's Bay have produced an all-time record harvest.

A Wattie's statement said this season saw a crop of 140 metric tonnes per hectare, or 5.5kg per plant, a 5 percent increase over the previous record.

There was a total of 39,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes harvested and processed by the company this season.

Wattie's Managing Director Neil Heffer said their growers have combined to hit a new record in the company's 50 years of operation.

"Our harvest team have worked extremely hard to keep the machinery operating through several wet weather spells to maximise our yield from each tomato crop."

"We couldn't be prouder of the team in delivering the key ingredient to many of our Wattie's products," he said.

He said they were fortunate to have a local family that has helped with the tomato harvest for over two decades.

"They operate the harvesters and tractors right through the harvest season, approximately 70 days, day and night and we are extremely grateful for their support again this year."

The harvest season began mid-February and ended on May 4.

A Wattie's spokeswoman said the harvest took place over nearly 350 hectares.

The spokesperson said the increase in harvest volumes came despite a season with challenging weather conditions which saw Hawke's Bay receive more than 510mm of rainfall during the harvest season alone.

The total harvest is 40 per cent higher than Wattie's five-year average yield.

Twenty years ago, the five-year average tomato harvest was 80 metric tonnes per hectare.

The tomato varieties harvested by the Hawke's Bay tomato farmers for Wattie's are Roma or 'acid free'.

Besides being peeled, diced and canned tomato products, the tomatoes are also made into tomato paste to be used in Wattie's products like soup, baked beans and spaghetti.