Frankly Speaking Week 12 Update Thursday 24 March 2016
Maturity across both green and gold is behind last year and already the Gold 3 is behind the Industry harvest and shipping plan. Dry matters are also down. Accordingly Zespri has introduced a number of measures to try and accelerate the harvest and we outline this in this bulletin to you. Of course none of these will correct the weather.
Hayward Conventional
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Increase to Kiwistart rates
Indicative kiwistart rates for Hayward Conventional have been increased for all weeks.
These rates have been increased in response to the monitor data showing maturity is tracking a week behind last year and a concern that this will create supply pressure in the later part of period 1 [weeks 16-18]. There are no changes to Hayward organic.
The updated rates are:
Green 14
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Changes to taste bands (proposed)
Monitor data for Green 14 is showing that the dry matter levels for this variety are lower than has been seen in previous seasons. The marketing programme is planned for China and Japan, with these programmes concluding shipping early in May. A supply cap has been issued for 1.5 million TE, which is equal to the amount of supply expected this season. The supply cap is for taste bands Y and T only. This means that if M band is submitted it does not qualify for the kiwistart submit incentive.
In response to the lower dry matter this season it is proposed that T band will be widened. The finalisation of the T band is subject to the Japan markets feedback as both Y and T band will be required to meet this markets demand. The table below shows the proposed new taste band ranges. We counsel you that M band fruit will receive very low payments especially outside of kiwistart.
Hort 16A
A submit premium is being paid to Hort 16A growers to ensure that this variety is packed and shipped in the early supply window to match the marketing programme. The optimal timing for this programme is to have these varieties shipping completed before week 23. This means that the Hort 16A grower is not able to participate in the Gold storage pools.
The submit premium payment will be paid to Hort 16A growers on the volume submitted from the Friday of week 15 to the Thursday of week 22. This fruit must be shipped by week 23. The rates vary by week and are equal by size grouping. As a consequence of the submit premium being paid there are no time rates for Hort16A this season.
The premiums for Hort 16A are shown in the table below.
Gold 3
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Modified Kiwistart criteria
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Week 12, Friday – Sunday additional payment
A new temporary criteria for kiwistart has been introduced and this is called a MKC [Modified Kiwistart Criteria]. The MKC requires fruit to have a higher dry matter and lower brix than the Mainpack criteria, and is designed to increase the availability of fruit for the early shipping programme.
The MKC is:
All sizes meeting this MKC will be paid the same kiwistart rates as the conventional Kiwistart and Mainpack clearance criteria that has been accepted into inventory at the time of a supply cap or allocated volume. Importantly Zespri have indicated that they will withdraw the MKC with only 48 hours notice, after which you won’t earn the kiwistart premium. So Seeka will be careful to make sure only short curing times in the shed for this criteria to make sure any and all fruit is packed within the time frame.
The MKC will be available from midnight Friday 25th March.
Shipping
There are three charter vessels and a significant number of containers scheduled for Week 13 [next week]. The expectation is that the majority of this programme will be supplied with Gold 3, however due to a current lack of supply an additional submit payment of $0.80 is now available for fruit submitted on Friday – Sunday of week 12 [March 25 – March 27]. This is an additional payment to the week 12/13 rate of $1.71.
This additional payment is flat across the sizes and will be paid at the same time as the kiwistart payments. So we will be working through Easter to get the job done should the weather clear. Typically our Industry goes from full stop to flat out for a couple of weeks at this time of the year without any cognisance of efficiency.
Our sheds have successfully commissioned without issue. The first of the Gold 3 has been packed at Oakside and Hukapak with Transpack scheduled to commence packing later today, and the first loadouts planned for Saturday. We have however had a serious harm injury already for the year and I will update you next week on the details. Happy and safe harvesting.
Best,
Michael
