Land use fact sheet
Apples and pears
New Zealand's reputation for high quality, premium apples and pears, collectively known as pipfruit, gives us access to a growing international market — even in countries where we're competing against lower-priced products.
The industry's focus on research and development of new varieties has meant that 6 of our top 10 export apple varieties were bred here in New Zealand. Varieties that are bred for growing conditions in New Zealand usually produce the most fruit.
Overview
Regions
86% of New Zealand's apples and pears are grown in Hawke's Bay and Nelson, followed by Central Otago and South Canterbury.
Growing conditions
Pipfruit need flat or gently sloping land to allow machinery access. They also need shelter and deep, free draining soils.
Climate
Pipfruit needs winter chill temperatures between 0-7oC. They prefer dry summers with most rainfall in autumn or winter.
Commercial scale
You'll need at least 25ha of land unless the orchard will be run by an owner-operator and can use existing infrastructure.
Getting started
Plan ahead – trees, materials and labour can be hard to come by. Some varieties need to be ordered 2 to 3 years in advance.
Skills / employment
Plan for one worker per 6 ha, seasonal workers for pruning, thinning and harvest, and a fulltime manager if over 40 ha.
Regions
62% of Aotearoa's apples and pears are grown in Hawke's Bay, which is our main growing area. This is followed by Nelson, with 24%.
Other growing regions include:
- Central Otago
- South Canterbury
- Gisborne
- Waikato
- Wellington
- Auckland
- Bay of Plenty.
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Commercial scale
25 hectares (where an orchard manager is also carrying out practical orchard work).
Smaller areas can be profitable if they are run by an owner-operator or if they are run very efficiently. You will also need to have access to infrastructure, such as packhouses, cool storage and agricultural contract services for workforce and machinery.
Getting into the industry
It takes time to plan and set up an orchard, as there's a high demand for trees, materials and labour. Some tree varieties need to be ordered 2 or 3 years ahead of planting.
It costs around $100,000 per hectare to develop a basic pipfruit orchard at 3.5m row spacing and 1.5m tree spacing. This includes drainage, trees, trellis, irrigation and ground preparation.
The cost increases with higher density planting. Highly intensive planting systems have development costs of around $200,000 per hectare.
Skills and employment
Manager
A full time dedicated manager is needed for orchards of 40 hectares or more. An additional manager will be brought in if the area is 60 hectares or above.
If the orchard is under 30 hectares the manager is likely to be responsible for practical orchard tasks as well as dedicated management tasks.
Understanding whenua management
Permanent staff
Allow for 1 permanent staff member for every 6 hectares. These staff members will carry out practical orchard work under the direction of the manager.
Seasonal staff
Seasonal staff are required for:
- pruning in winter
- thinning in late November through mid-January, and
- harvest from mid-February to early May.
The harvest window varies by region and variety, with early varieties finishing harvest in mid-March and late varieties not beginning until April.
Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme
The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme can help you find and recruit seasonal workers from overseas. You must register as a recognised seasonal employer and meet a number of conditions to be able to use the scheme.
Compliance
Levies
Growers are supported by Horticulture New Zealand as well as industry body New Zealand Apples and Pears.
- Horticulture New Zealand collects a compulsory levy of $0.14 per $100 of sales.
- NZ Apples and Pears collects a levy of $0.125 per kilogram of apples or pears sold
Guide to the vegetable and fruit commodity levy
Integrated Fruit Production programme (IFP)
A lot of apple and pear compliance is driven by the market destination.
If you register to export with NZ Apples and Pears, you must follow the Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) program. This is the NZ system for producing fruit with low residues, low biosecurity risk and low environmental impact.
The goal of IFP is to produce high quality apples and pears, prioritising human health and the environment through sustainable production techniques. A manual is available from NZ Apples and Pears.
There are also official assurance programmes led by MPI, which are to assure other countries that NZ fruit will be free of pests or diseases that are biosecurity risks for those markets.
Council regulations
Many councils require consents for access to irrigation water and for other activities related to changing land use.
Talk to your local council before investing in any detailed planning or other work to ensure you're aware of any consents or permits needed to develop an orchard on your whenua.
Meeting council compliance obligations
National policy statement for freshwater management (NPSFM)
The National Policy Statement for Freshwater 2020 gives local authorities direction on how they should manage freshwater under the Resource Management Act 1991. As such, some local authorities require growers and farmers to create a Farm Environment Plan (FEP). Make sure you're familiar with the FEP expectations in your region. Check with your local council about the requirements for your whenua or planned development.
Even if your region doesn't yet require an FEP, it's good practice to put one in place for your whenua as part of your business plan. The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) provides templates you can use to create an FEP.
Farm Environment Plan templates
GlobalG.A.P.
GlobalG.A.P. accreditation confirms that you have complied with all food safety regulations and that your crop has been produced using environmentally sustainable practices. It has social practice add-ons, and an additional environmental management add-on that is expected to cover most requirements of the NPSFM.
Growing conditions
Apples and pears need:
- flat land under 3° in slope (although land from 4° to 7° can be used under a more restricted type of growing system and machinery access)
- fairly deep and free draining soils that can withstand heavy traffic like tractors and sprayers, and
- good shelter, including hail nets.
Orchards experience more traffic in spring, with pest control, and autumn, with harvest. Soils in an orchard can also be variable and will require focused management to get the best results.
Shelter belts are commonly used on the windward sides of the orchard depending on the surrounding land formation. They also commonly ring orchard properties where there are residential or community areas nearby, to prevent spray drift.
Hail and frost injure pipfruit but can be controlled with hail netting and frost fans. Sprinkler systems, especially overhead sprinklers, and other heat sources can also be used to help control frost.
Pears are more susceptible to wetness around the roots and wind damage than apples.
Climate
Winter chilling (where the temperature is below 7°C but above 0°C) is required for pipfruit or they won't develop buds in spring. Different varieties have different chill requirements, so take advice when planning your orchard.
Good growing areas such as Hastings typically have between 1200 and 1400 Grower Degree Units (GDU) between 1st October and 1st April.
Apple and pears are best grown in regions with relatively low levels of summer rainfall. Spring and summer rainfall increases the risk of disease and restricts the number of days that spraying is possible.
Autumn rainfall can impact fruit quality and disrupt harvest.
Water
New Zealand pipfruit orchards need up to 30 to 35mm per week of soil moisture.
You may need some supplementary irrigation, especially in the first 3 to 4 years of a tree's life and during dry months, though this depends on your soil type and root depth. A good water supply is essential.
Market
The most recent World Apple Review showed:
- NZ had the highest apple production in the world at 61 tonnes per hectare, followed by South Africa with 41.3 tonnes per hectare
- the international average for apple production was 23.4 tonnes per hectare.
65% of the NZ apple and pear crop is sold to export markets. Another 13% is sold fresh in NZ and the rest is processed.
The pipfruit industry has outperformed most other primary industries over the last 10 years. Export earnings doubled between 2012 and 2016 and continue to grow. In 2018 export earnings were $775 million and this is expected to reach $1 billion before 2022.
Reasons for this include:
- a shifting focus from markets in the EU, UK and USA to markets in Asia, and
- continual development and innovation resulting in a steady cycle of newer, more profitable varieties coming onto the market.
Future industry
Research and development
Growers are steadily replacing older varieties, such as Braeburn, Cox, Pacific Beauty (TM) and Pacific Rose with new, more profitable New Zealand-bred varieties such as Envy (TM), Jazz (TM) and Rockit (TM).
This drive to innovate and improve means that New Zealand orchards produce around 50% more fruit per hectare than any other country, while still being of the highest quality.
NZ currently has a competitive advantage in ultra-low residue fruit and low biosecurity risks in foreign markets. Diversifying into new licenced varieties has helped avoid commodity price swings exhibited by more common varieties.
Challenges faced by the industry include:
- the scarcity and price of suitable land
- securing reliable skilled workers
- biosecurity incursions
- long wait times for trees on preferred rootstocks
- access to development funds
- access to packhouse and coolstore facilities, and
- uncertainty around securing a long-term water supply in the main growing regions.
A high percentage of seasonal workers have been hired through the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. Growers have identified future changes to the scheme as a potential risk to the industry.
RSE scheme — New Zealand Immigration
Biosecurity
The top biosecurity threats are currently identified as the Queensland fruit fly and brown marmorated stink bug.
Operational costs
The average per hectare cost to run an apple orchard from 2013 to 2018 was $27,368.
This was made up of:
- labour expenses of $19,018
- pest, disease and weed control of $3,081
- other orchard operating expenses of $3,510, and
- overhead expenses of $1,759 per hectare.
Grower returns
Growers can expect their first crop after 2 to 3 years, with yield increasing steadily to a mature crop around year 6 to 8. Trees are productive for up to 40 years, but usually a better variety will be on the market by year 15 to 20 so the trees will be replanted or regrafted.
The average New Zealand production per hectare is 60 tonnes. Depending on the variety and maturity of the orchard some growers aim for 80 to 110 tonnes per hectare depending on planting density.
Grower sale prices are set each year by market conditions. The sale price of class 1 export grade fruit the sale price will depend on the variety type, colour grade and fruit size.
MPI release a regular pipfruit monitoring report using data from two 40 hectare ‘model’ orchards. The latest report pipfruit monitoring report was released in 2017. It found that Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) per hectare for the model orchards, for the 3 years ending 2017, ranged between $15,300 and $18,900. These figures may improve as intensive planting systems become more common across the industry.
Seek advice
Seek advice early, before you invest in any design or development.
Talk to your local Te Puni Kōkiri office to see how they can support you through your decision-making process. They will be able to provide advice and find out whether your project qualifies for funding.
Talk to the industry organisation to see what support and resources they can offer to people thinking about growing pipfruit.
If possible, seek out advice from people who grow apples or pears in your area as well as knowledgeable suppliers. Talk to qualified consultants who are experienced in pipfruit growing and other land developments in your area. They will be able to provide detailed, impartial advice on what will (and won't) work on your whenua.
About this fact sheet
This fact sheet provides general information to help start and inform conversations. It is not comprehensive enough to support detailed decision-making.
The information in this fact sheet was contributed by:
- New Zealand Apples & Pears
- AgFirst
- Fresh Facts
- Te Puni Kōkiri kaimahi.
Data that has not been credited in the body of the fact sheet has been sourced from StatsNZ, or provided by the contributors.
You can provide feedback on the content on this or any fact sheet by emailing the Whenua Māori Service at whenuainfo@tpk.govt.nz