Jens Liesebach, KGI Lower North Island Representative
Finally, we are getting meaningful accumulation of winter chill units. Whilst it might slow down pruning, it will be great for budbreak. Application of budbreak sprays will commence at the beginning of August.
As the hydrogen cyanamide season approaches, there’s plenty you can do now to ensure a smooth run. Hydrogen cyanamide applications attract a fair amount of community concern, and we have to work together as an industry to ensure that we don’t give any reason for spray complaints. If you have any concerns or need any assistance, you can contact Jemma Pryor at Zespri on 027 283 6192 or jemma.pryor@zespri.com
Zespri recently announced the results of their Producer Vote regarding a one season commercial trial for the monitoring, procurement, and marketing of up to 200,000 trays of Chinese-grown Gold3 kiwifruit. Whilst there was strong support from the industry for the trial, this did not reach the 75 percent threshold required under the regulations meaning the proposed trial will not proceed. Zespri will continue to monitor the situation in China closely and as part of its core business activities, will continue its research and development partnerships in China to better understand and monitor the performance and quality of Gold3 in China. The industry will be kept informed of further developments. .
We all know that New Zealand produces plenty of great food to feed the world. One of the best known examples is the export of 95% of our dairy products, however have look at the RNZ webpage “Who’s eating New Zealand”. There is a brilliant visualisation of how much money we extract from overseas markets and how the ranking by counties has changed over the last 30 years. For kiwifruit, Japan was ranked number 10 in 1991 at $22,495 and China was not even mentioned. Things have definitely changed.
Please keep Wednesday, 18 August 2021 free for the NZKGI AGM which will be preceded by the KVH AGM at 9am and will be followed by the Zespri AGM at 1.00pm at the Trustpower Arena, 81 Truman Lane, Mount Maunganui.
I look forward to seeing you there.
