4 Dec 2019

Hawke's Bay grower in disbelief as avos stolen from 50 trees

From Checkpoint, 6:22 pm on 4 December 2019

A Hawke's Bay avocado grower is in disbelief after 50 trees were completely stripped of their fruit.

It comes as the Avocado Association is warning growers to keep a closer watch over their crops following a spate of thefts around the country.

Hamish Jardine, owner and winemaker of Crab Farm Winery in Napier, says the theft on his Bay View orchard is particularly gutting because it had been a bumper crop.

He told RNZ reporter, Anusha Bradley, each tree was carrying around 40 kilograms of fruit, but it wasn't until Sunday evening that he'd noticed it was all gone.

Hawke's Bay Police are urging avocado lovers to be on the lookout for suspicious sellers of the fruit.