Produce company T&G Global is forecasting a loss of $28 to $34 million for this financial year after Cyclone Gabrielle severely affected the group’s Hawke’s Bay plantings.
Chief executive Gareth Edgecombe said about a third of the group’s planted hectares were damaged by the cyclone - 13 per cent were severely damaged and another 22 per cent would be less productive over the next two to three years.
Most of T&G’s orchards were not impacted by the cyclone, however, Edgecombe said.
In February, the exporter reported a full-year loss of just under $1m, with revenue down 4 per cent, after quality issues with its Envy brand apples and easing overseas consumer demand.
Edgecombe said T&G’s New Zealand apple crop had been fully harvested, though overall supply volumes were down 19 per cent on last year.
