Talking Point: The Apples and Pairs view

Alan Pollard is chief executive of NZ Apples and Pears.

Who owns the Port of Napier and how any future development is funded is currently the topic of a formal consultation process by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

In this piece I make no attempt to express any view about either of those matters, other than encourage people to "have their say".

What I did want to make comment on is the critical importance to our industry and for the Hawke's Bay region of having a fully functioning, well run and efficient port facility that has the capacity to handle the significant increased volumes of freight and cargo that are forecast by port users over the next few decades.

The apple and pear industry in Hawke's Bay has no choice but to send our exports through Napier Port.

There are simply not enough trucks or drivers available to export our apples via any other port, and even if there were, the cost of doing so is prohibitive.

So, the industry is very interested in the future development of the port to accommodate our expected growth.

Hawke's Bay grows and exports about two-thirds of New Zealand's apple crop. With expected export receipts of almost $500m in 2018, the industry contributes somewhere between $1.5 billion and $2.5b in economic benefit to the region each year.

That includes not just the 2400 permanent and 12,500 seasonal jobs in the industry in Hawke's Bay, but all the associated jobs and investment relating to logistics, rural supplies, consultants, professional advisers and the like.

The New Zealand apple and pear industry has been ranked No 1 in the world for the last four years.

This reflects our unique New Zealand developed varieties; how we grow our trees and fruit in an environmentally, socially and culturally sustainable way; how we harvest our fruit in a fixed harvest window using New Zealand and Pacific Island labour; our world-leading post-harvest technologies; and our sophisticated marketing to the world.

Consumers the world over want our product and we must be able to deliver the unique customer experience that New Zealand apples and pears offer.

To meet this increasing demand, the industry is growing. Around 1 million trees are being planted nationally each year, some new and some replacement varieties.

Planted area is increasing year on year by around 4 per cent. And new planting techniques (two-dimensional along wires rather than traditional three-dimensional tree structures) could double what is already the highest productivity per hectare of any other producing country in the world, around 50 per cent higher in fact than the second-highest producing country.

Which brings me back to the port. For the industry to be able to deliver on our growth aspirations, and to deliver on increased job opportunities and economic activity in the region, and also to deliver high-quality product on time to a growing number of discerning customers worldwide, we need to see the port capacity increase and technology advance.

The port handled a record 5 million tonnes of cargo this financial year but cargo growth, ageing assets, larger ships and port congestion mean its ability to handle much more cargo is severely compromised. It is estimated the port will need to invest $320m to $350m over the next 10 years to build a new wharf, replace ageing assets and increase capacity.

Napier Port customers (Hawke's Bay producers) and shipping lines already contribute to its future development programme, and this will continue.

However, they cannot shoulder the full burden, and with the redevelopment benefiting all of Hawke's Bay for generations to come we welcome the port consulting on alternative funding sources.

The port is a very important strategic asset for the region, and I hope that by securing its future the aspirations and potential of the region can be realised.