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HORTNEWS MAY 2020, ISSUE 10

Onion growers adapt well to changes – Page 15

ISSN 2624-3490 (print) ISSN 2624-3504 (online)

WWW.RURALNEWS.CO.NZ

Italian innovation helps Zespri

Peter Burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

ITALIAN KIWIFRUIT packhouses experience in dealing with Covid-19 has helped New Zealand to fast-track innovation in its own packhouses to deal with stringent new safety regulations. Zespri’s chief grower and alliances

officer, Dave Courtney, told Hort News that when the new rules around social distancing in workplaces came into force in NZ, there were challenges in putting the new practices in place – this slowed down packhouse efficiency for some time. However, he says some of the packhouses in Italy – which pack Zespri kiwifruit – had been dealing with this

issue much earlier, had experience in these types of protocols and knew how to keep people safely apart. “They actually shared their ideas around erecting screens between people and how they ran their facilities and sent us photos and videos and other information,” Courtney explains. “There was a real collaborative approach about how to meet the new

rules and how to keep operating under them. So, we were quickly able to take their learnings and devise our own systems based in their ones.” Courtney says Italy tends to harvest their green kiwifruit early and put it into coolstores. When they get orders, they bring it out and pack it then. He says the kiwifruit industry in NZ has now got its head around the new pro-

tocols and how to operate. “Many have gained confidence in their operating environment and we are seeing really good pack-outs now. Some are even up to some of the best days of last year.” But Courtney says this varies across the industry and there is no doubt the Covid protocols have had an impact on the how firms operate.

PICK OF THE CROP!

Twenty-six-year old Maatutaera Tipoki Akonga, who works as a senior leading hand at Llewellyn Horticulture, based in the Hastings area, is one of three finalists in this year’s inaugural Ahuwhenua Young Māori Grower Award. He joins fellow nominees, Tauranga’s Brandon Darny Paora Ngamoki Cross and Whangarei-based Finnisha Tuhiwai, who are also in the running for the 2020 award. The Ahuwhenua Young Māori award was inaugurated in 2012 and is designed to recognise up-and-coming young Maori in the farming and horticulture sectors. This year the competition is for horticulture. See the full story on page 18. PHOTO

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2 HORT NEWS

Kiwifruit moving despite disruption Peter Burke peterb@ruralnews.co.nz

ZESPRI IS expecting a degree of disruption throughout the year due to Covid-19. Dave Courtney, Zespri’s chief grower and alliances officer, says while it’s early days, there are some positive signs. For example, the first shipment of Zespri gold has arrived in Europe – the earliest it’s ever done, with fruit also arriving in China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan. “Fruit has been moving well from ship to wharf and out into market. While all governments in our markets have put restrictions on people moving, generally they have been keen to keep goods moving, especially food, and that is positive for us,” he told Hort News. “The other key thing is that kiwifruit is a fresh, healthy fruit

and a source of nutrients – especially vitamin C – and in these times people are trying to keep healthy; so that is a positive signal for us from a demand perspective. As a result, we are seeing strong demand in all of our key markets, but there is still some disruption.” Courtney says one issue for Zespri is the product which traditionally went to the hospitality market is now going to other markets – the space there is now a bit crowded. He says despite these unusual trends, Zespri still believes there is demand for fresh, healthy produce. He says while the size of NZ kiwifruit is slightly smaller than previous years – due to the long, dry summer, the taste is excellent. “Taste is a big selling point and is a critical driver for consumers to buy and come back and buy again.”

PRICES HOLD THE NEWS for growers is, not unexpectedly, uncertain and mixed. While over 40% of the crop has been picked, 25% shipped and 5% sold, Zespri, is cautious about price predictions. Courtney says they started sending updates to growers in March and updating these on a regular basis to keep them in the loop. Normally the guidance on pricing is not done until May, but he says Zespri recognises that growers need to know where the market might be heading. The latest price range is as follows: ●● Zespri Green: $5.00 - $6.50 $6.46 per tray ●● Zespri Organic Green: $7.50 - $9.50 $9.65 per tray ●● Zespri Gold: $9.50 - $11.00 $11.71 per

Zespri’s Dave Courtney says while it’s early days, there are some positive signs for Kiwifruit exports despite the impact of Covid-19.

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tray Zespri Organic Gold: $11.00 - $13.00 per tray ●● Zespri Green14: $5.75 - $7.75 $7.65 per tray Courtney says while the season has got off to a positive start, change at any time is possible. He points to likely changes in consumer purchasing behaviour, supply chains, distribution issues and potential competition from other fruits in certain markets. “As things stand today, the news is positive,” he told Hort News. “But Zespri is under no illusion that on any given day a new disruption or challenge could arise for us and any other industry and country.” ●●

HORT SECTOR RESPONDS TO CHALLENGES HORTICULTURE NZ chair Barry O’Neill says the sector is already starting to look at how it will have to operate in the future. O’Neill believes the horticulture sector is coping well in the circumstances. He says the big industries like kiwifruit and apples are harvesting, at the moment, and can still get their produce into markets. “Kiwifruit have their shipping arrangements and these charter ships have been able to collect product in NZ and discharge it at ports overseas in China, Japan and Europe and it is being distributed to supermarkets that are open. “Some of the scheduled shipping lines that would normally be coming to NZ on a weekly basis have been impacted. We don’t have the same frequency that we would normally do and that becomes a little bit more difficult.” O’Neill says, at one stage, there was a concern about the availability of containers to take produce to market but says this seems to have been resolved. However, he adds that there still is huge disruption to supply chains in Europe and the USA where there are even problems with people getting to supermarkets.

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HORT NEWS 3

Onion growers adapt well to changes Sudesh Kissun sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz

LIKE OTHER food growers, onion farmers have been quick to adapt to Covid-19 restrictions. Onions NZ chief executive James Kuperus told Hort News that maintaining worker welfare and managing risks to prevent staff getting sick has been the highest priority. Six weeks ago, when New Zealand went to alert level 4, there was a lot of uncertainty what this would mean for workers. It took some time for nerves to settle and work through what this actually meant, Kuperus says. “Onion growers are doing a great job of adapting to the change in priorities and requirements to maintain worker welfare,” he says. “The workers that growers have working for them are the number one asset at the end of the day: maintaining worker welfare and managing risks to prevent staff getting sick is the highest priority.” Growers have been: • putting in place protective screens • restricting and track-

ing who comes on site • ensuring workers are adhering to social distancing requirements as set out by Ministry of Health and Ministry of Primary Industries • following good hygiene practices. Despite Covid restrictions, onion exports to main markets - Europe, Asia and the Pacific Islands - have not been impacted. “To date, there have been no major issues with exporting onions due to Covid-19: people all around the world need to eat, including onions,” says Kuperus. He says it is critically important that onions are still exported as they are an important rotation in many growers’ cycles. “For example, a grower may grow potatoes then leafy green vegetables then onions, back to potatoes etc,” Kuperus explains. “Having onions in the rotation prevents the build up of diseases that may impact the other crops, that is, they have nothing to feed on in that field if they don’t eat onions.” Kuperus says maintain-

$172M EXPORT EARNER LAST MONTH New Zealand onion growers celebrated the re-opening of a key market – Indonesia. Indonesia re-opened its market to New Zealand onions after some clarification was required for the new import rules, says Onions New Zealand chief executive, James Kuperus. Onions are the main horticulture crop exported to Indonesia, returning $28 million to regional New Zealand in 2019. In total, NZ’s onion exports rose to $172 million in 2019, up by $83 million on 2018. Apatu Farms joint managing director, Paul Apatu says Onions New Zealand has been very proactive, working directly with Indonesian government officials, and various receivers in the Indonesian supply chain. “The strategy is to grow the Indonesian market, along with other markets across the world. We’re pretty confident that long-term, international demand for New Zealand onions will grow.”

ing and enhancing market access is Onions NZ number one priority. He says the New Zealand onion sector is extremely thankful for

the work that officials from MFAT and MPI have done to support the industry. “We realise that we are not the biggest export

industry. It is much appreciated the work Government officials do to assist the onion sector to retain and open new markets.”

Onions NZ chief executive James Kuperus says growers are doing a great job of adapting to the requirements to maintain worker welfare.

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4 HORT NEWS

NZ blackcurrant sales surge Nigel Malthus

A UK-BASED company, believed to be the single biggest exporter of New Zealand blackcurrant product, has seen “very strong” sales as consumers in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic seek healthy dietary supplements. CurraNZ produces blackcurrant extract capsules marketed as a dietary supplement, and

for sports nutrition, performance and recovery. “We have seen very strong sales up here in the UK, New Zealand and Australia as well,” the company’s co-founder, New Zealander Fleur Cushman told Hort News. The company says its antiviral and antimicrobial supplement is shown to boost the immune system, and Google Trends have “unsurprisingly” shown that

Her now late father Mike Cushman, who founded the Clinicians Supplements range of dietary supplements, first alerted her to the potential of blackcurrants. searches on boosting immunity have peaked to record highs in the last few weeks. However, Cushman is at pains not to be claiming blackcurrant as a cure for coronavirus.

“What we have seen is good science that has come out of Japan and Iran particularly. Highimpact recent papers are showing that blackcurrant does have anti-viral effects and it does sup-

CurraNZ co-founder Fleur Cushman says NZ blackcurrant sales have surged in the UK in the wake of Covid-19.

port the immune system.” Cushman explains that

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the dark colour of blackcurrants comes from a class of antioxidants called the anthocyanins. High levels of both polyphenols and anthocyanins are linked to New Zealand’s – especially Canterbury’s – high summer UV levels and cold winters. “We only use a specific variety of New Zealand blackcurrants because they have particularly high levels of anthocyanins, and the climate has an awful lot to do with that.” Cushman says New Zealand fruit is of such high quality that they can produce an extract of 35% -- so 105mg of each 300mg capsule is guaranteed to be anthocyanin – which she adds fruit manufacturers elsewhere in the world struggle to achieve. Cushman says she first went to Britain to follow a career as a horse racing journalist, although the family business in New Zealand “kept calling me back.” Her now late father Mike Cushman, who founded the Clinicians Supplements range of dietary supplements, first alerted her to the potential of blackcurrants, as shown by early Plant and Food findings. Subsequent work at the University of Chichester showed

their potential for sports nutrition, recovery and performance. With a UK partner, she launched the company in the UK in 2014 and in New Zealand in 2017. It now also has a distribution base in Australia. CurraNZ product is sourced from a co-operative made up of about eight of New Zealand’s dozen or so growers. For commercial reasons, Cushman won’t reveal where the extraction is carried out, but final production of the capsules is done in the UK. She says it’s not feasible to do it in New Zealand because, with elite sportspeople including Tottenham Hotspurs and High-Performance Sport NZ among their customers, it has to be done at sports-accredited facilities to avoid falling foul of anti-doping rules. Meanwhile, Cushman said research into blackcurrants was now moving from sports nutrition into the health sciences. She said research into anthocyanin was taking on a life of its own. “It’s no longer me trying to door knock and trying to garner interest from scientists based on a small amount of evidence – now we field research requests from all over the world.”

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HORT NEWS 5

Award highlights doing ‘good stuff’ Nigel Malthus

ENTERING THE Ballance Farm Environment Awards highlighted how much “good stuff” vegetable grower Robin Oakley was already doing on farm – not, he says, for the recognition or publicity but because it is best practise. A first-time entrant, Oakley was well-rewarded at the recent Canterbury awards dinner. His tally of three awards – the Ballance Agri-Nutrients Soil Management Award, Hill Laboratories Agri-Science Award and the Massey University Innovation Award, was bettered only by the supreme winner, dairy farmer Tony Coltman. With his wife Shirleen, daughter April and father Graeme, Robin runs Oakley’s Premium

Fresh Vegetables Ltd – a five-generation family business based at Southbridge. It also has leased blocks as far away as Amberley and Hororata, with a total of 350ha in vegetable production. Oakley told Rural News he was initially reluctant to enter – “to stick my head up and get it chopped off”. But his motivation, at a time when the public was getting stuck into rural people, was to get some good stories out about the good things being done in the rural sector. “If you want to be best at what you do you make improvements everywhere you can,” Oakley explains. “Pretty much everything we do is seen as environmentally good.” He says it is really all common-sense stuff. An example is the use

A family affair: Robin (left), Shirleen, Graeme and April Oakley in one of their broccoli paddocks. Photo: NZ Farm Environment Trust

of moisture monitors. Many farmers were now installing moisture monitors because they are being told they had to. However, Oakley’s farms already have 10 and are getting more. “We’ve been running

those for seven or eight years now and each year we’re putting more and more on. We’ve seen the benefit of them.” He says these allow better fine-tuning of crop management. “Nitrogen and water

are the two most critical components to growing a crop,” he told Rural News. “And too much or not enough of either of them can hugely affect the outcome of your crop.” He adds that the monitors are also a good man-

agement tool. With his blocks spread widely across Canterbury, going around all the paddocks to assess moisture every four or five days would be a full-time job without the monitors sending in reliable information. “We’re not leading edge, but any technology, systems or opportunities that come along we’re usually up there in front row seats,” Oakley explains. “If we see the benefit in them; we get onboard pretty quickly.” Trading as Oakley’s Premium Fresh Vegetables, the family-run business is based on four blocks at Southbridge, between the Rakaia River and Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, plus leased blocks as far afield as Darfield and Amberley, for a total of 350ha in

vegetable production. Selling mainly into supermarkets, they are members of the MG Marketing wholesaling cooperative. “By successfully combining the elements of responsible water use, soil health, scientific research, environmental stewardship, community engagement and financial planning, Robin Oakley and his team take sustainable farm management into a new era,” says MG Marketing General manager of communications and sustainability, Ellery Tappin. The Ballance Award judges noted that ‘an innovative, agile approach is taken across Oakley’s business, resulting in consistently high-quality vegetables that meet the changing demands of consumers.’

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