New Zealand: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual

New Zealand’s apple-planted area in the 2024/2025 market year (MY) is forecast to increase substantially to 11,100 hectares (ha) from the significant damage to farms due to Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023. The cyclone caused considerable damage due to large-scale floodwaters, silt, debris, wind, and surface flooding in the primary apple-growing regions of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. FAS/Wellington forecasts apple production in the 2024/2025 MY to be 560,000 metric tons (MT). This is representative of an optimistic weather outlook, implementation of farm system innovations, and a growing availability of seasonal labor. In addition, hectares planted in recent years are reaching maturity and achieving higher yields. January to September in 2023/2024 MY, exports are tracking over 10 percent higher than the previous year. Recent media has reported the potential prospects of the total annual revenue in the current market year exceeding NZ$1 billion (US$ 600 million), the highest ever annually.