Apple Bytes - New Zealand Apple Newsletter
Issue 4: 25 February 2009
Intended for Recipient Only.
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Royal Gala Harvesting
First exports have dispatched for Royal Gala. Fruit looking very clean. Prices opened high, expected to ease back after week 9 and stabilize from week 10,11 onwards. Harvest of early fruit is finished with the bulk of conventional fruit underway. Harvest looks quick, fruit will come off fast – on average 14 days picking. Fruit will be transferred to cool-chain quickly. At this stage colour looks to be averaging 60% up, with Royal Gala sizes around 106-110# from our growers. Volumes slightly less than first thought. Good strong early demand. | Points
|
Red Delicious
Red Delicious harvest still looking around 15 March. Same volumes as last year.
We pack in 18kg which is our NZ standard, however we will be packing some 20kg for the India market. This will apply for Red Delicious only.
Fruit Size
I have kept general crop information on the newsletter this week, as many customers are still asking for this information.
National Crop profile for 2009 is expected to be 17.2m tce's, up 16.5% on 2008 figures.
Quality looks excellent.
National Fruit size predications looking as follows at present:
- Royal Gala #112
- Braeburn #104
- Fuji #87
- NZ Rose #87
- NZ Queen #96
- NZ Beauty #100
- Jazz #110
- Granny Smith #102
Volume by Variety
| Volume | TCE's |
|---|---|
| Royal Gala | 5,800,000 |
| Braeburn | 5,200,000 |
| Fuji | 1,700,000 |
| NZ Rose | 483,000 |
| NZ Queen | 321,500 |
| Granny Smith | 449,000 |
| Pacific Beauty | 173,000 |
| Pink Lady | 547,000 |
| Other Apples | 464,000 |
| Jazz | 1,260,000 |
| Pears | 318,000 |
Anticipated harvest dates
Harvest dates should follow a similar trend to last season as follows:
- NZ Beauty 10 Feb
- Royal Gala 17-24 Feb
- Red Delicious 15 March
- NZ Queen 20 March
- Braeburn 26 March
- NZ Rose 01 April
- Granny Smith 10 April
Royal Gala – Size Ratio
Expected Royal Gala Size Ratio (National Average) Z-Pack
| 70# | 1.3% |
| 80# | 5.5% |
| 90# | 12.8% |
| 100# | 19.9% |
| 110# | 19.4% |
| 120# | 18.8% |
| 135# | 15% |
| 150# | 5.9% |
| 165# | 1.1% |
| 180# | 0.2% |
Limited small sizes of Royal Gala. Hardly anything 165# and below.
Packing & Pictures Royal Gala 2009
We predominantly pack in 18kg cartons, which is the NZ standard.
Our primary export grade is called Class One:
- Class One has 2 colour brackets.
- 50-70% Standard
- 70% up High Colour
The differences between Standard colour and high colour are shown. To give a proper indication of colour we have photographed the front red side of the apple/and then again the green side.
| High Colour 70% up | Standard Colour 50-70% |
|---|---|
|
Red side 
|
Red side  |
|
Green side  |
Green side  |
Shipping Lines
Royal Gala shipping from 19th Onwards.
This season we will be utilizing the services of PIL shipping lines and MSC Lines.
| PIL Lines | Napier ETD | |
|---|---|---|
| MOL Mauao | V062 | 07 Mar |
| Kota Pelangi | V112 | 14 Mar |
| OOCL Melvourne | 78 | 21 Mar |
| California Merc. | 228 | 29 Mar |
| MSC Lines | Napier ETD | |
|---|---|---|
| MSC Basel | V908 | 01 Mar |
| MSC Krittika | V909 | 08 Mar |
| MSC Antwerp | V910 | 15 Mar |
| MSC Jemina | V911 | 22 Mar |
Packing
Most apples are packed in 18kg which is the NZ standard, except for Red Delicious and Fuji apples.
- SG Standard colour is 50-70%
- HG High colour is 75% up, and commands a premium
| Size 18kg | 20kg |
|---|---|
| 80 | 80=90 |
| 90 | 90=100 |
| 100 | 100=113 |
| 110 | 110=125 |
| 120 | 120=135 |
| 135 | 135=150 |
| 150 | 150=165 |
Registration of Interest
Please register your interest. Let us know your pack type, variety, colour, so that we can quote you accordingly.
Don't forget that you can view our NZ Apple newsletters on our website www.nzfreshfruits.com as well as previous years.
Best Regards,
Denise & Bala
References: AgFirst, Pipfruit NZ Inc. Market Panel Member.
Disclaimer:
Information has come from a variety of sources and is largely summary articles. References are indicated. Where opinions are expressed they are of the writer, and do not necessarily represent the New Zealand Apple Industry. Fresh Fruits Company Ltd cannot be held responsible for damages which may be incurred as a result of any person acting upon information in this publication.