Frankly Speaking – Week 30 Update
Please accept this Grower Update to the end of week 30 [Sunday 27 July].
Currently Bryan Grafas and I are in China having travelled here via Japan. In Japan sales are going well and pleasingly the Sungold [G3] variety has received a good market response. It was 35 degrees and in spite of challenging fruit conditions and late season fruit, the quality was actually pretty good. While happy with the quality a few jobbers in the wholesale market commented that they were looking forward to getting a slightly smaller size profile next year. Hayward is also enjoying good sales and apart from a few supplier-specific issues, quality is very good.
Here in China the temperature is hotter and Bryan and I have suffered in the heat. Market conditions are also good with high demand for both G3 and Hayward. The Hayward quality that we have seen is outstanding. We have also seen a number of different varieties and labels of kiwifruit in the market. Interestingly Chilean fruit is of higher quality this season and is receiving a significant increase in market pricing - 60% increases have been mentioned to us by a number of people in the market. Delivering great tasting fruit of high quality is a key to success in any market. Our quality appeared good and, as an example, our collaborative marketing program to Urumqi is enjoying great demand.
Back at home our Post Harvest Teams have been under pressure as they fulfil heavy shipping and loadout programs. As you will see in the statistics below our gold programs are nearly completed and we are satisfied with the performance of the fruit. The Charm [G9] program has dragged on a little but outside of this lingering tail the program is largely completed and quality good. Hayward loadouts have been lumpy with some high required volumes putting the supply teams under pressure to ensure that all the fruit meets it’s specifications and that we load out the most appropriate fruit. Fruit loss in Hayward is slightly higher than we would like but it is still early in the program. There is currently a small deficit in the time pool but this is largely due to lower time related rates this season. [please see comment under the Hayward time statistics].
The statistics as at End Wk 30
Hayward
Seeka Packed: 17,054,522 trays Industry 69,798,811 trays [Seeka 24.4%]
Average reject rate: 17.69% Average size 33.12
Seeka fruit loss to date 0.48% Industry fruit los to date: 0.32%
In store 6,390,160 trays
On order week 31 592,286 trays
On order week 32 857,176 trays
The green pool balance is currently at negative$329,825 [=-$0.019/ tray] at the end of week 30. Using 2013 rates the pool would be at negative $144,752.
Hayward Organic
Seeka packed : 975,494 trays Industry 3,565,431 trays [Seeka 27.4%]
Average reject rate: 24.52% Average size 35.33
Seeka fruit loss to date 0.37% Industry fruit loss to date 0.17%
In store: 248,046 trays
On order week 31 41,703 trays
On order week 32 34,247 trays
Time related earnings are estimated at $8,867 [$0.01/te]
Hort16a
Seeka packed : 509,852 trays Industry 6,490,082trays [Seeka 7.8%]
Average reject rate: 17.39% Average size 32.85
Seeka fruit loss to date: 0.88% Industry fruit loss to date 0.55%
In store: 43,184 trays
On order week 31 18,703 trays
On order week 32 0 trays
Seeka had no kiwistart GK volume. The time pool is estimated at $129,858 [$0.269/te]
G3
Seeka packed : 1,114,829 trays Industry 10,732,064 trays [Seeka 10.4%]
Average reject rate: 13.36% Average size: 27.91
Seeka fruit loss to date: 0.84% Industry fruit loss to date 0.84%
In store: 54,865 trays
On order week 31 18,703 trays
On order week 32 0 trays
In the home straight and looking for final orders for the fruit. The time pool is estimated at $64,946 [$0.059/te]
G9
Seeka packed : 176,823 trays Industry 1,806,363 trays [Seeka 9.8%]
Average reject rate: 15.21% Average size 31.85
Seeka fruit loss to date 5.84% Industry fruit loss to date 5.08%
In store: 8,122 trays
On order week 31 1,025 trays
On order week 32 1,088 trays
Slow orders. Please note the Zespri meeting below. Time pool earnings are estimated at $21,090 [$0.124/te]
G14
Seeka packed : 116,410 trays Industry 936,622 trays [Seeka 12.4%]
Average reject rate 20.31% Average size 36.08
In store: 0 trays
Fruit loss 8.36% Industry fruit loss to date 3.5%
The G14 pool is estimated at negative $106,181 [=-$0.92/tray] – please note there is no time related income in 2014.
Zespri G9 Meeting
In case you have missed it in your mail, Zespri are holding a meeting of G9 growers to discuss the future of this variety. If you are a G9 grower then we would encourage you to attend. The meeting is on Friday [1 August] at 1pm at the ASB Baypark Stadium Lounge at 1pm.
Capacity Plans
Our planning teams are focussed on our 2015 capacity with predicted increases of G3 and the need to ensure that we have sufficient capacity for our Hayward growers who have largely carried the Industry through the Psa crisis. We are anticipating both a kiwistart program and Seeka may also use some controlled atmosphere storage in 2015 for the G3 variety. Details about any kiwistart criteria will be released later. Our Board will consider the 2015 capital program in August. We have also been meeting with our picking contractors to make sure that we have adequate picking horse-power for the 2015 season.
Kind regards
Michael
Seeka Key
Contacts