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Bruce Fraser in his Riwaka orchard
Sweet and unique: PiqaBoo reaches record highs The 2021 season produced plenty for Piqa®Boo® growers to think about, with record prices and an insatiable demand for their fruit, balanced against continued production difficulties. By Rose Mannering Prices reached extraordinary heights, with the highest recorded being an 18 kg carton of count size 70 fruit selling for $182. Freshmax Asia sales manager Greg Sutherland says after five years marketing PiqaBoo, the demand and excitement continues to grow as more markets and consumers are exposed to the crunchy European-Asian pear hybrid bred at Plant & Food Research Ltd. “In 2017, we sold 1,400 trays and despite tough growing issues this past season, we reached 8,600 trays,” Greg says. “All customers want more; we could comfortably sell three or four times the volume.” Prices reached record levels and were 26% higher than 32
The ORCHARDIST : NOVEMBER 2021
last season, despite the exchange rate moving considerably and in the wrong direction. “These were also transacted at a 0.70 cent exchange rate (NZ to $US). In the 2020 season we were in the low 0.60 cent range,” says Greg. Marketers of PiqaBoo were aware they needed to increase the prices paid to growers who faced a suite of unfavourable conditions including poor exchange rates, and sharp increases in shipping and labour costs. “We were expecting some push back from consumers, but such is the demand for this unique and tasty fruit that we were still not able to supply enough to meet the continued strong demand.
