Industry News

Zespri seeks $70 million damages

5 November 2018

In the Auckland High Court, Zespri has launched a civil case for $70 million in damages against the person who allegedly sent plants of its SunGold kiwifruit variety to China. It is believed the area covered by the illegal plantings there is about 160 hectares. read more

Increase in Pacific worker numbers good for horticulture

5 November 2018

Horticulture New Zealand is pleased Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni and Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway have increased the amount of Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers who will be available for the upcoming busy fruit harvest season. read more

Pressure from other fruit in citrus ‘capital’.

15 August 2018

The flow of sweet, juicy Gisborne oranges into the supermarkets of New Zealand is well under way as this region produces more than half of the country’s crop. read more

Australian citrus industry under threat

15 June 2018

Some of Australia’s major growers of citrus fruit are demanding urgent action in the Northern Territory to prevent a disease outbreak that is spreading south and west from Darwin, threatening to ruin the $750 million industry. read more

U.S. market opens for fresh NZ persimmons

4 October 2017

U.S. authorities have announced fresh persimmons from New Zealand are now eligible for import into the country under a systems approach. read more

New Zealand horticulture now worth $8.7 billion

30 May 2017

Produce from the New Zealand horticulture industry is worth $8.7 billion a year, including more than $5 billion of exports, a new record high.According to the new issue of industry publication Fresh Facts, New Zealand exported $5.1 billion of horticultural produce in the year to June 2016, around 10% of... read more

New funding for NZ biosecurity and pest management

24 March 2017

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed six new biosecurity and pest management projects that have received funding in the latest Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Farming Fund round.The six projects have been approved for total funding of just under $1.7 million and include a focus on vespula wasps and... read more

Looking forward to good volumes of kiwifruit

15 March 2017

There is increasing activity in New Zealand’s kiwifruit orchards as the picking and packing of kiwifruit gets underway. Small volumes have just started to be harvested in Northland and Poverty Bay and will extend throughout the North Island and the top of the South Island over the coming weeks. read more

Survey finds 70% of New Zealanders want to buy homegrown produce

10 March 2017

Most Kiwis want to buy New Zealand fruit and vegetables and believe every item should carry a label showing country of origin, a survey has found.The joint Horticulture New Zealand and Consumer NZ survey found 71 percent of New Zealanders wanted country of origin labelling on fresh, tinned and frozen... read more

Micro-organisms in Psa battle

17 June 2015

Micro-organisms may be the answer to fighting the vine disease Psa-V which came close to devastating the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.Plant & Food Research scientists are fighting the disease Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae on two fronts as part of the Next-Generation Biopesticides research programme.Today, 2724 orchards have been identified with... read more

Kiwifruit growers allowed antibiotics

17 September 2012

Kiwifruit growers have again been granted permission to use antibiotics on their vines, in a bid to increased defence against PSA. There are, however, concerns that some growers will not be able to afford the investment. Kiwfruit Vine Health has authorised the use of antibiotic spray Keystrepto until December 15th. read more

Orange juice good for the elderly - research

A small study, which saw 37 adults with an average age of 67 consume 500ml of orange juice daily for eight weeks, found they had an eight per cent overall improvement in cognitive function compared with a group who consumed a control drink. read more

Push for country of origin labelling

MP Gareth Hughes (Green party) is confident his country of origin food labelling Bill will pass into law this year, to the benefit of Gisborne’s horticultural sector. read more