Good news for shoppers: Produce prices may drop in coming months

Thursday, 16 March 2023

Apples could be in short supply towards the end of the year thanks to Cyclone Gabrielle.

‘Tis the season for pears, feijoas and limes – but how much are we going to have to pay for them?

A kilogram of Beurre Bosc pears was $3 at Countdown Mt Roskill this week, while limes were $22.50 a kilogram, or about $2.25 a lime.

Beurre Bosc pears were $4.99 a kg and limes were $14.99 a kg at Pak ‘n Save Mt Albert. Feijoas were not available at either supermarket.

The supply of autumn produce such as pears, apples and feijoas to supermarkets had not been halted by January flooding or Cyclone Gabrielle. Persimmons and mandarins would arrive later in the season.

But president of United Fresh and 5+ A Day Charitable Trust board member Jerry Prendergast there were some real challenges that had occurred in the vegetable market with the Auckland floods.

* Unimogs and helicopters called in to deliver essential grocery items to isolated supermarkets

* Full extent of flood damage to vineyards won't be known for days

The rising cost to supply produce to retail supermarkets is responsible for most price increases, up 24% in the last year.

Citrus fruits were still being imported, which was why the price of limes were quite dear. Citrus fruit would be picked next month.

“At this point reports are that crops are quite good,” he said.

But there was a big question about apple supply, and if it would manage to last the whole year.

“We normally expect to take apples right through until Christmas, but it’s still too soon to predict what volumes will be like for us domestically and even how the fruit will perform for export.”

About 65% of apples are grown in the Hawke’s Bay, while the rest are grown in the Tasman area.

Jerry Prendergast says winter crops are looking strong.

But the moist soil and warm weather in the past few weeks had been great for planting which meant the winter crop would be strong, and prices of produce could return to some sort of normality, he said.

Stats NZ reported fruit and vegetable prices were up 23% year-on-year in February.

But Prendergast said the percentage increase had been consistent since the end of last year and on average prices were only up about 1% each month.

”That’s more akin to what we started to see last year when we had a range of weather events that affected vegetables.”

Tomatoes and potatoes were pushing up the price rises, which was down to crop failures, he said.

Prendergast’s advice for those buying fresh produce was to be flexible and versatile.

“There will be times when your favourite fruit or vegetable could be short,” he said.

Managing director of Jina's Fresh Produce Ajay Jina said while there had been adverse weather conditions in the lead-up to autumn, there were many other horticultural areas around NZ that had been unaffected including Horowhenua, Manawatū, Tasman and Canterbury.

“With that said, some areas such as Pukekohe that were affected by flooding earlier this year are now slowly starting to see signs of recovery. They are bouncing back,” he said.

“New Zealanders underestimate the strength and capacity of our horticulture industry. We are resilient and certainly world-class. Be it growers or wholesalers like us, some of us have generations of expertise. We know how to manage difficult situations.”