The Hawke's Bay apple and pear harvest will fall short of pre-season forecasts says Pipfruit New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard.
The volume could be up to 10 per cent less than forecast, resulting in a crop size the same as last year.
In January a record crop of 590,000 tonnes of apples and pears was forecast nationally, with 384,000 tonnes to be exported.
The previous record was 560,000 tonnes in 2004.
"We have to drill down and see where reality differs from the assumptions we made," Mr Pollard said.