New Zealand Kiwifruit Harvest Kicks Off

• 2025 marks New Zealand’s earliest ever harvest of kiwifruit
• Largest ever kiwifruit crop forecast to be harvested breaking 200 million tray milestone

New Zealand’s 2025 kiwifruit harvest has begun with the first fruit picked just outside Edgecumbe in the Bay of Plenty, marking the earliest ever harvest.

Growers Mark and Josie Ruiter and their Orchard Manager Sarah Davidson were excited to be the first in New Zealand to have the kiwifruit on their orchard picked this year. The lucky grower’s kiwifruit were of the red variety. Zespri’s sweet, berry-tinged tasting RubyRedTM is the first variety which is picked for supermarket shelves in New Zealand and some overseas markets, followed shortly after by the Gold and Green varieties.

The excitement of this season’s kiwifruit is being shared by most of New Zealand’s growers who are experiencing ideal growing conditions to produce plenty of high-quality fruit. Current analysis forecasts an industry milestone could be reached this year with a record crop of just over 200 million trays of kiwifruit to be harvested over the coming months. This would be a modest increase from last year’s record-breaking season of more than 190 million trays. On average, each tray has around 30 pieces of kiwifruit. The harvest traditionally peaks in mid-April and runs through until June.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. CEO Colin Bond shares grower’s enthusiasm about the current season. “While my thoughts are with those Tasman and Whakatane growers who received significant hail damage at the end of last December, overall, growers have experienced a great lead up to harvest with ideal sun and little wind to produce excellent kiwifruit”, says Colin.

“Over the last few years our industry has been working collaboratively to ensure our supply chain is robust to export increased volumes and deliver our high quality fruit to consumers around the world.”

Zespri CEO Jason Te Brake says it’s fantastic to see harvest get underway following a largely positive growing season. “I’m excited about the upcoming season, with another record-breaking crop with moderate increases in SunGold and Green kiwifruit volumes, and Zespri RubyRedTM Kiwifruit doubling in volume. Demand for our fruit remains strong and we’re focused on delivering high-quality fruit early and consistently throughout the season to maximise returns for our growers.

“Our customers and teams in the market have come off a strong 2024 season, are looking for more of our fruit, and are ready to begin sales strongly in the coming months.”

The success of New Zealand’s kiwifruit harvest is not only important for the industry, but the wider regions in which kiwifruit is grown. In the 2023/24 season, kiwifruit growers contributed some $2.2bn to the local economy. New Zealand’s kiwifruit industry is horticulture’s largest export with over 2,800 kiwifruit growers located from Kerikeri to Motueka.

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