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Northland avocado study gets underway
AVO UPDATE
Northland avocado study gets underway
By Jen Scoular : NZ Avocado chief executive
NZ Avocado is undertaking a study to understand the opportunity for avocados in Northland.
Over 1,000 hectares have been planted in avocados over the past five years, mostly conversions from dairy, with tree nurseries still foreseeing good orders going out over the next few years.
The project seeks to understand how industry growth can be supported in Northland, from labour requirements to schooling for those in the industry, to logistics and coolstore facilities, to transport for packing and shipping avocados.
Acknowledging the need to ensure sustainable growth, the study will look at water requirements and availability, the ability to spray agrichemicals using helicopters, and the positive impact jobs and career options might have on regional New Zealand. It is not just about avocados. We will certainly share the resulting report with other sectors, with an expectation that if avocados thrive, other sectors and the communities there will as well.
As the industry body, we understand the landscape and know many of the orchardists or commercial entities planting, as many need to become a member of the NZ Avocado Growers Association before they purchase clonal avocado trees.
We have received support from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for the study and have now held three online workshops with growers and stakeholders to look ahead, hear growers’ views on the opportunities and challenges of supporting industry growth, and discuss ideas on solutions to those challenges. Holding strategic workshops online is certainly more difficult than face to face, but when the participants are happy to share their knowledge, their questions and their expertise, it makes for some excellent conversation. It also provides the opportunity to hear from new and long-time growers on the same call, hear about technologies that could be adopted from apples or summerfruit to use on avocados, and to hear about the basic cost structure under which those investing in new developments operate. The feedback participants provide will help to further inform the study. We certainly appreciate the collaborative way the participants share that information. We have such a diverse range of growers, owning nearly 1,700 orchards, ranging from 0.1ha to 200 hectares, with yields from under 5 tonnes per hectare to 50 tonnes per hectare. NZ Avocado expects to receive the report by March 2022.
This year has been a very challenging season for the avocado industry. A big thank you to the avocado growers, packers, marketers, retailers and service providers who are adapting, innovating and doing everything they can to find solutions to the frequent challenges of this season. The upcoming holiday period will be a busy time for avocados too, with export harvest volumes and shipping peaking in December and January each year. We wish all growers a successful harvest and a safe and happy festive season.
