Current demand for organic product in New Zealand's premium markets is flowing through to impressive orchard gate returns. Coupled with urban encroachment on traditional kiwifruit growing regions, and there are compelling reasons to convert to organics.
Seeka's strategic decision to grow the category delivers orchardists the economies of scale required to deliver a top technical transfer service and cost-efficient post harvest systems. It's all about growing more and paying less.
Seeka's Waimapu packhouse on Oropi Road, Tauranga, is configured as a specialist organic packhouse to pack Seeka's Green organic product, with an organic team formed to support orchardists. The small but growing volume of Gold organic product is packed at Seeka's specialist soft-handling facilities.
Heading up the WaimapuOrganics team is the organic category manager
Peter Weaver. Peter is keen to expand the organic category, having personally experienced the rewards of converting an orchard from conventional to full BioGro status during this 20+ years as a kiwifruit orchardist.
Seeka's existing organic growers and those in the process of conversion have formed an organic growers group which manages the organic grower pool. The organic grower group makes policy decisions and controls grower payments. The group also draws upon Seeka's economies of scale to manage grower costs.
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