Strawberry Exports

Geoff Langford, Berryworld

There is a long history of exporting strawberries from New Zealand.  Historically, USA was the most important market with strawberries being targeted at Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November.  That opportunity has declined since around 2008 with Mexico and Florida now better positioned to meet that demand.

New Zealand has since targeted Asian markets and Thailand and Taiwan have become the main markets.  Even last year, when there was only about 70% of the plantings that we normally have, there were still over 70t of strawberries exported worth over a million dollars in FOB returns.

The strawberry industry has made a major investment in opening up a new export opportunity in Vietnam that was given a boost a few years ago following a visit by Jacinda Ardern to that country.  That export opportunity sits waiting and hopefully will happen this year.

Some growers might question why this effort is being made into export that only a handful of growers will take advantage of.  The key advantage for the whole industry is about reducing the volume appearing on the New Zealand market.  It is worth thinking about the impact that an extra 250t in 2021, 150t in 2022 and 70t last season would have had on the local market price if it wasn’t exported.

Export is not easy.  There are a lot of bureaucratic hoops that need to be jumped through.  The big question is whether it is worth it.  The average FOB return from export last season was $16.87 per kilo which compares with the weighted average price recorded from our Auckland trial plot of $11.62 per kilo.  This is unfortunately not a direct comparison as the latter is the wholesale return while FOB value will include some additional costs (“free on board,” means freight/packaging/exporter have been paid).  Some of the Pacific Island markets showed returns of over $25 per kilo but usually for smaller volumes.  At least the return is in the same ball park and will be a major help in supporting the local market price.

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