Please accept this report updating our growers on fruit performance and industry issues up to midnight 16 September.
Seeka is in the process of completing its share of the Hayward conventional fruit to be removed from inventory and dumped. In our case we have been able to utilise this fruit in the Delicious Nutritious Food Company to manufacture Kiwi Crush rather than it being diverted to dairy. We still have 5m trays in inventory coming into the week with massive 1.214m trays to be loaded out this week and 600k trays next. Even after this, we will be still carrying high stocks for this time of the year and the prospect of further removals remains. A number of storms in the northern hemisphere have disrupted the shipping plans with vessels delayed and orders rescheduled, the impact of the storms on kiwifruit sales is not yet known. Fruit loss remains low, and the team is happy with fruit performance to date.
By contrast the SunGold comes into the week with only 527k trays with higher volumes of load outs in the last two weeks. We have 134k trays to load out this week and 120k trays next. Fruit loss continues to be remarkably low, at half the industry average. Fruit performance on and off shore likewise is good and unremarkable.
Both Hayward and SunGold organic fruit performance and loadouts have been good.
Across the orchards, early bud break is excellent. The orchard managers are pretty happy with what they have seen with some bird damage to the buds. And everyone is conscious of the prospect of late frost.
To the numbers:
Kind regards,
Michael
Seeka Key
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