Seeka has now completed the 2017 harvest with the last Hayward organic orchards in and packed at Huka Pak today. It’s been a complicated Harvest with rain, dry matter and clearance by size in SunGold and changes to the minimum taste standards complicating the Hayward harvest. The harvest of some fruit was delayed past its optimum, but in spite of this the fruit arrivals in market after the early Zespri conditioning programme have been of excellent quality. We appreciate your forbearance with us as we have called the harvest, and the fruit you provided us to handle.
To be honest I am still calming down from the decision making process and outcome last week around the Hayward minimum taste standard and applaud MPAC who alongside Seeka voted against the proposal to pay zero taste, and against the decision to treat the fruit between last year’s minimum taste standard and this year’s MTS level as non-standard supply. The significance of non-standard supply is that Zespri are not caught by drawdown rules and percentages for this fruit. I was surprised that we had to push hard for these growers to receive loyalty payment. The loyalty payment is a rebate on the Zespri marketing commissions and this fruit will be sold in markets, which will more than likely deliver income to the pool beyond the payment that the grower will actually receive. The commentary by Zespri that this is a “strategic decision” may well fall foul of the Regulations and we have invited KNZ to clarify. It’s important that whatever decisions are made; fall within and not beyond the Regulations.
Simply put this fruit that sold well last year for good returns, will sell well again this year. So are we discriminating for the legitimate reason? So now that is off my chest:
To the numbers: [to midnight Sunday 18 June]
SunGold [CN&OB]
| Industry Packed Trays | 52,931,100 | Seeka Packed | 8,647,308 [16.3%] |
| Seeka Loaded Trays | 5,686,338 | In Store Trays | 2,960,970 |
| On Order Trays | 657,326 | Average size to date | 26.22 |
SunGold Organics have 36,283 trays in store of a total submit of 115,584 and there are 14,974 trays on order to be loaded in the next 14 days.
Hayward Conventional
| Industry Packed Trays | 65,339,575 | Seeka Packed | 14,784,143 [22.6%] |
| Seeka Loaded Trays | 7,632,460 | In Store Trays | 7,152,682 |
| On Order Trays | 574,793 | Average size to date | 29.03 |
Hayward Organic
| Industry Packed Trays | 2,531,071 | Seeka Packed | 634,905 [25.1%] |
| Seeka Loaded Trays | 315,556 | In Store Trays | 319,349 |
| On Order Trays | 67,202 | Average size to date | 33.84 |
Thank you to our contractors, pickers, transport operators and truckers and our growers for Harvest 2017. Great outcomes with the new packing machines commissioned and coolstores constructed. A planned and coordinated harvest has delivered a safe outcome. Thanks to all.
Regards
Michael
Seeka Key
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