Please accept this Grower Update to the end of week 15 [Sunday 12 April]. The first past the post caps for Hayward and G3 both closed at midnight on Thursday 9 April. This made for a hectic few days and our teams did well to deliver for our growers.
Seeka packed more than its market share and importantly has shipped more than its proportional share of this early fruit. While the first-pass-the-post process ensures that Zespri has early fruit to market, in participating strongly Seeka has also made up for other suppliers who picked fruit, who received the Kiwistart premiums but did not load it out. Seeka Growers discussed this issue this morning and concluded that there should be an FOBS component to kiwistart payments. The Council also considered the overall early season process and believes that a second independent lab would be beneficial to the industry.
Fruit quality continues to be excellent, bearing in mind that the season is a little late, however the new Zespri supply system has foundered under the pressure of the early season. The issues associated with non-performance of the SAP supply system, alongside the poor performance of the AgFirst lab have added to the challenges faced by suppliers in getting their grower’s fruit cleared, picked, packed and loaded on a professional and timely basis.
Seeka has performed well for its growers in the first-past-the post phase of the season. Please note that we have continued packing since the closure of the caps so the numbers I’m about to quote may vary from the weekly statistics further down.
In the first past the post period Seeka packed 1.062M trays of G3 or 19.1% of the harvested fruit [we think our share is 13%] and has loaded out 740k trays. There is now a modified clearance criteria for G3 with Zespri looking for 260k trays from Seeka by midnight Thursday. We are also harvesting mainpack G3 clearances as they arise.
Seeka packed 2.794M trays of Hayward or 28.8% of the Industry under first past the post criteria [we think our share is 24%]. We have loaded out 1.7M trays.
Seeka packed 16k trays of GA organic or 51% of the Industry [we think our share is 12%].
Seeka has packed 70k of Hayward organic or 23% of the Industry. We are behind industry share in this category but now have clearances ahead of us. Early fruit quality in organics has been tremendous. This cap is open and Seeka is chasing fruit.
Finally Seeka has packed 96k trays of G14 and shipped 53k trays. G14 quality continues to be mixed with some very good lines punctuated by lines of variable fruit.
The statistics as at midnight Sunday 12 April:
Hayward
Seeka packed: 3,038,825 trays Industry packed: 10,359,456 trays [29%]
Seeka average size: 33.61 Industry average size: 33.57
Shipped: 1,702,420 trays In-store: 1,336,405 trays
On order for week 16:642,100 trays
On order for week 17:560,587 trays
Hayward quality continues to be excellent. Yields are up on estimate and Seeka is now predicting [and planning for] higher than estimated volumes. The harvest is now based around allocated volumes of around 500k trays per week. Maturity areas join the lineup as they clear to achieve our allocated volumes in a fair fashion.
Hayward organic
Seeka packed: 69,966 trays Industry packed: 303,925 trays [24%]
Seeka average size: 34.91 Industry average size:35.74
Shipped: 0 trays In-store: 69,966 trays
On order for week 16: 14,014 trays
On order for week 17: 14,953 trays
The cap remains open and our team is chasing more fruit. Early organic fruit has been excellent.
G14
Seeka packed: 95,769 trays Industry packed: 599,167 [16%]
Seeka average size: 36.19 Industry average size: 35.90
Shipped: 52,605 trays In-store: 43,163 trays
On order for week 16: 30,362 trays
On order for week 17: 31,624
Our strategy with G14 remains to pick at Protocol N, pack and ship.
G3
Seeka packed: 1,081,722 trays Industry packed: 5,761,038 [19%]
Seeka average size: 29.65 Industry average size: 29.23
Shipped: 739,345 trays In store: 342,377 trays
On order for week 16: 246,766 trays
On order for week 17: 208,809 trays
Currently chasing 260k trays of modified together with normal mainpack clearances.
G3 Organic
Seeka packed: 15,937 trays Industry packed: 31,300 [54%]
Seeka average size: 25.11
Shipped: 8,544 trays In store: 7,393 trays
On order for week 16: 11,970 trays
The first line of fruit was tremendous size and quality.
Hort 16a
Seeka packed: 17,148 trays Industry packed: 739,415 [2.5%]
Industry average size: 31.68
Shipped: 0 trays In store: 17,148 trays
Our first Hort16A has been harvested and packed with further fruit clearances coming on stream now.
Other updates:
Oakside Recovery: Framing for the new curtain–sider load out area is up. The central wall alongside the north shed is being replaced (for room 4). The coolstorage equipment for room 3 is being made separate from rooms 1 and 2. This means that rooms 1 and 2 will be back in coolstore operation shortly . Once the room 4 wall is replaced then just like meccano it should just all come back together. We are on track to have the site at full capacity when we need it.
Water Source Alert: A grower who supplies Seeka and another supplier has had a very unusual and distressing event. The grower’s water source [header tank] looks to have been deliberately contaminated with herbicide. When the grower applied Lustre™ he unwittingly poisoned his orchard because of the contaminated water. The Police are looking into this however we recommend that growers be alert to this risk and consider securing their water source if practical. This grower has our sympathy for this distressing, and apparently malicious, event.
Thank you for your cooperation and your fruit quality which have both contributed to the successful start to the season.
Kind regards
Michael
Seeka Key
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