Browse Data and Analysis

New Zealand’s apple planted area in the 2023/2024 market year (MY) is forecast to be 9,200 hectares (ha), a substantial drop from 11,000 ha at the start of the 2022/2023 MY. This is due to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, which brought large-scale floodwaters, silt, debris, wind, and surface flooding to the primary apple growing regions of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne.

New Zealand apple-planted area in the 2023/2024 market year is forecast to drop substantially from 11,000 ha to 9,200 ha.

Germany is the third-largest importer of cherries in the world after China/Hong Kong and Russia. From 2010 to 2022, between 52 and 77 percent of the cherries consumed in Germany were imported, with the majority of imports originating in other EU member states.

New Zealand apple production in 2022/23 has been revised down sharply as a result of the damage caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, which hit the nation’s largest apple growing and exporting region – Hawke’s Bay/Gisborne – in February.

The Government of New Zealand has passed legislation that will restrict a wide range of plastic products to be sold in New Zealand, including non-compostable produce stickers.

The outlook for the 2022/23 apple season in New Zealand is much more optimistic with the opening of international borders following COVID-19 restrictions. While the last two apple harvests were severely impacted by the lack of labor, the return of overseas workers under the Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme is expected to help allow a recovery in production, with the forecast up 12 percent from the previous year’s estimated crop.

This report summarizes the results of the 2022 German deciduous and stone fruit tree census and focuses on developments in the planted varieties of apples and pears. Since the 2017 census, total planted area decreased by 1.45 percent, and 9.2 percent of German fruit farms ended operations.

Germany is the third-largest importer of cherries in the world after China/Hong Kong and Russia. From 2010 to 2021, between 52 and 77 percent of the cherries consumed in Germany were imported, with the majority of imports originating in other EU member states.