New Zealand’s 2023 kiwi crop to fall due to severe frosts

The once-in-a-generation frosts that struck New Zealand in early October have led Zespri to project a 10-15% reduction in its green and gold kiwifruit volumes for 2023 season. The regions significantly affected included Opotiki, Edgecumbe, Tauranga, Katikati and Edgecumbe. The Zespri Board of Directors issued a statement saying that they are continuing to assess the full impact of the frost event, but the provisional view from discussions with affected growers is that this is likely to have contributed to a 10-15% reduction in the Green and SunGold Kiwifruit crops for the 2023 season, and a 15-25% reduction in RubyRed Kiwifruit.

“These figures have been calculated based on a weighted average by region and will be revised as we gather more information before our first official crop estimate for the 2023 season is released to industry in early December,” read the statement.