Feijoa season has got underway and high freight costs means orchardists are focused selling their produce to the domestic market.
Feijoa harvest at Kaiponi Farms. Photo: Supplied / Kaiponi Farms
The first of this season's fruit is landing on many supermarket's shelves this week after picking of early varities kicked off late last month.
Kaiponi Farms in Gisborne is New Zealand's largest feijoa grower and packer and expected volumes similar to be similar to last season.
Sales lead Olivia Abernethy said the growing season had been fantastic, with lots of hot days but also plenty of rainfall leading to some great sized fruit.
Harvest would peak in a couple of weeks and they hoped to get through the busy period with minimal Covid-19 releated disruption, Abernethy said.
"Feijoa harvest is very labour intensive... And so obviously with the with Omicron at the moment there's a few staffing shortages, but hopefully we can continue to get through the season, like we're doing at the moment."
Feijoa harvest at Kaiponi Farms. Photo: Supplied / Kaiponi Farms
Frans de Jong from Southern Belle Orchard in Matamata said pre-Covid about half of their fruit was exported to the likes of the US, but the last two years extremely high freight costs meant all of their produce had stayed in New Zealand.
He said they would be attempting to send some fruit overseas this year, but it was hard to tell how that would go and there would still be more of a reliance on the domestic market.
"Although Kiwis can come back home again and there's little bit more air traffic ... it's still not enough to have a fair competition in freight."
Frans de Jong said growers in Auckland and Northland were continuing to be affected by the pest insect Guava Moth, which could have a devestating impact on yeilds.
