Booming horticulture exports forecast to soon rise to $5.6b

understood, but he said horticulture in broad terms was also going ahead.

“If I look across the board — all the crops that we represent — every little group of growers is looking to increase returns,” Chapman said.

Outside the mainstream, Chapman said blueberry exports went up by 50 per cent between 2015 and 2016, cherry exports by 30 per cent and onion exports by 38 per cent.

The development of Pukekohe brown — a sweet tasting onion with good storage characteristics — has been a boon for onion exports.

“Success has been about developing varieties that other countries do not have, to give us that market advantage,” Chapman said.

Research and development work from the government-owned re- search institute Plant and Food — which developed Gold3 — has been an important driver for horticulture.

In the big picture, Chapman said, people were thinking longer and harder about the best land use.

Kiwifruit growers — particularly for gold — can now look further afield thanks to the variety’s ability to be grown in other areas.

Dave Courtney, chief grower and alliances officer with kiwifruit marketer Zespri, said kiwifruit had had a strong run, post-Psa, but that “strong growth opportunities” remained.

Ninety per cent of “green” kiwifruit is grown in Bay of Plenty. Proportionately more gold is grown outside of the region and there’s been strong interest to grow it in the NelsonMotueka area, Hawke’s Bay-Gisborne, Te Kaha, parts of the Waikato and South Auckland.