New Zealand: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Semi-annual

New Zealand’s apple planted area in the 2023/2024 market year (MY) is forecast to be 9,200 hectares (ha), a substantial drop from 11,000 ha at the start of the 2022/2023 MY. This is due to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, which brought large-scale floodwaters, silt, debris, wind, and surface flooding to the primary apple growing regions of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. Orchards in this region were damaged so severely that tree stocks were not viable for future production or were destroyed completely. FAS/Wellington is forecasting apple production in the 2023/2024 MY to be 480,000 metric tons (MT). This represents a predicted recovery due to the following - the El Niño weather pattern, availability of seasonal labor, and implementation of farm system innovations. Domestic demand for pears in New Zealand continues to outstrip domestic supply. As a result, New Zealand imports fresh pears annually to meet its market demand.