Land Use Fact Sheet
Citrus
Summer heat and mild winters make Northland and Gisborne the natural leaders of Aotearoa’s citrus industry.
Citrus is a solid option that provides steady returns under good management conditions. The season dovetails with higher-profile crops such as kiwifruit, so diversifying with citrus helps to avoid peak/trough labour demand and offers more stable employment.
Most citrus grown in New Zealand are sold on the domestic market. Meyer lemons are our major citrus export crop, followed by Navel oranges.
Overview
Regions
Most of New Zealand’s citrus is grown in Gisborne and Northland. It can also be found in Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay.
Growing conditions
Citrus need free draining soils and sheltered land that is flat or has a gentle north-facing slope, for machinery access.
Climate
The best climate for citrus has long hot summers with cooler, frost-free winters. Heat is needed for sweet, colourful fruit.
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
You will need to arrange a buyer for your fruit. This could be a wholesaler, pack house or a local buyer.
Skills / employment
Employees need training or supervision for practical orchard tasks. Training providers can help whānau develop these skills.
Regions
Gisborne grows more than 65% of New Zealand's citrus crop followed by Northland with around 20%. The rest of the crop is grown in smaller areas around Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay.
Northland’s most productive citrus crops are Meyer and Yen Ben lemons. Oranges, mandarins and lemons are all grown successfully in Gisborne.
Citrus grows well in the Bay of Plenty but it competes for land against more profitable kiwifruit and avocado orchards.
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Commercial scale
25 hectares (where an orchard manager is also carrying out practical orchard work).
Orchards as small as 7ha can be profitable if they are run by an owner-operator and if you are able to run your business 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
Selling your crop
You will need to know how the produce will be sold when it is ready to come to market. This may be through a wholesaler, through the pack house or via another local buyer.
Orchard design and development costs
Citrus has not experienced the shift towards intensification seen in other industries.
Citrus does not yet have access to the dwarfing rootstocks available to other crop types. As a result the orchard design is still defined by wide spacings with no trellis.
Oranges are traditionally spaced at 5m by 3m or around 660 trees per hectare. Meyer lemon and mandarin are planted more intensively, with new plantings of mandarins trending towards 1500 trees per hectare.
A typical new orange orchard development will cost around $22,000 per hectare. Costs come from ground preparation ($1,000), planting labour ($1,000), cost of trees including rootstock ($10,000 at the planting density above) and irrigation ($10,000).
Additional costs will come from staking young trees, establishing shelter if required and any works needed to provide access to water, like drilling a bore.
Support for growers
Citrus New Zealand provides a range of support and resources to growers and people who are thinking of joining the citrus industry. Contact them early if you are thinking about citrus for your whenua.
Skills and employment
Citrus generally has low labour requirements during the year. Orchard workers need training or supervision for tasks including:
- pruning from March to May
- harvesting which can be from June through to February depending on season, variety grown and growing conditions
- operating machinery like tractors
- handling dangerous goods like sprays
- undertaking weed, pest and disease monitoring and control activities.
Compliance
Levies
Growers are supported by Horticulture New Zealand as well as industry body Citrus New Zealand. Both organisations collect compulsory levies under the Commodity Levies Act 1990.
Horticulture New Zealand collects $0.14 per $100 of sales. Citrus New Zealand collects $0.01c per kg sold for fresh fruit or $0.003c per kg sold of fruit for processing. These levies can change, so check the websites to make sure you have the latest information.
Horticulture New Zealand membership levy
Food safety
All growers must meet the requirements of National Programme 1 under the Food Act 2014 to ensure that the potatoes you are supplying to the market are safe to eat. This includes rules about how the crop is handled, managing spray residue and withholding periods.
NZGAP
NZGAP is a system that helps growers with all the overheads of keeping up with the wide range of compliance requirements including food safety. Becoming NZGAP certified gives you confidence that you are compliant. It makes it easier to find out when regulations have changed, and it makes your product more attractive to buyers. Find out more from the NZGAP website.
Exporters do not have to be NZGAP or GlobalG.A.P. accredited but some importers are less likely to take fruit from growers who are not accredited.
Export markets
Export markets are more likely to have specific requirements around food safety, spray residues and biosecurity. You must be aware of and meet all of these requirements if you wish to export your fruit.
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 are 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.
Growing conditions
Soils need to be free draining for citrus roots to thrive. Flat land is best but a gentle north-facing slope can be good for avoiding frost damage while still allowing machinery access. Avoid cold air drainage pockets.
Citrus need to be well-sheltered. Windy conditions will stunt tree growth and is a leading cause of fruit loss. Deciduous shelter species can help prevent cold air accumulation over winter. Flatter land makes shelter more effective.
Grasses and weeds will severely stunt tree growth. Keep rows tended and control weeds around growing trees.
Citrus are generally self-fertile so do not require specific pollinators.
Climate
Citrus trees grow between 13 and 40°C. Accumulated growing degree units from 1st September through 1st May should be over 1600, with the main growing regions often reaching 1800.
Accumulated summer heat has the largest impact on fruit quality by improving sugar levels, colour and skin thickness. The best climate for citrus has long hot summers with cooler winters.
Frost will damage fruit and new growth. It can kill young trees. Some low-lying areas in Northland and Gisborne are not suitable for citrus because they're prone to frost.
Water
Newly planted trees must be well-watered.
Soil moisture is required throughout the year, from rainfall or irrigation. Up to 30mm per week is needed at some points during the summer. Citrus have fair drought tolerance, and this irrigation requirement depends on the ability of soil to hold onto moisture as well as the frequency of rainfall through summer.
Market
Domestic market
The domestic market dominates NZ citrus with most being sold through supermarkets. Historically fruit from different growers was auctioned to these large buyers, however supermarkets are now moving towards dealing with one supplier who will guarantee their volumes and also maintain food safety, tractability and environmental standards. This removes competition between buyers, which puts downwards pressure on the price to the grower.
The local market can also import citrus year-round from other countries, which fixes local market prices below or equal to that of imported product.
Export market
The main export markets are Japan, USA, the Pacific Islands and China. New Zealand exported more than $7M of lemons in 2018, and $1.5M of Navel oranges.
New Zealand crops always compete for high-value markets on the basis of quality and consistency. Only the highest quality fruit are sent into overseas markets.
Future industry
The industry is working towards more efficient production methods to increase volumes and reduce environmental impact.
There's ongoing citrus research to improve internal and external quality of the fruit. The industry is looking to strengthen the local market position of NZ citrus, while also getting access to export markets where there is potential for NZ fruit.
Operational costs
Operational costs come mostly from thinning, pruning, fertiliser and the costs of harvest. The typical amount per hectare for each of the key crops is shown below, based on average yields and using $20 per hour as the labour cost.
- Lemons — $15,500.
- Navel orange — $8,500.
- Valencia orange — $7,200.
- Mandarin — $14,750.
Pest and disease control including the cost of the harvest are not included in the costs above and should be priced separately for your orchard.
Grower returns
Time to first harvest is three years for a small crop with production increasing steadily until a mature yield at around eight years. The trees will continue to crop at this level for the next 20 - 25 years.
Average yields for citrus in Gisborne are listed below in tonnes per hectare (t/ha):
- Lemons — 27.4 t/ha.
- Navel orange — 40 t/ha, up to 60 t/ha for top orchards.
- Valencia orange — 50 t/ha up to 70 t/ha for top orchards.
- Mandarins - 25 — 30 t/ha.
Price to the grower fluctuates based on market conditions and the amount of product coming into the market. The prices for the 2017 season are shown below, along with returns based on the average yield:
- Lemons — $1.10 p/kg or $30,140 p/ha
- Navel orange — $0.50 or $20,000 p/ha
- Valencia orange — $0.44 or $22,000 p/ha
- Mandarin — $1.40 or $35,000 p/ha
Using the operational costs and returns provided, the following figures provide an estimate of potential return per hectare excluding costs of finance and the costs that have already been identified as extras.
- Lemons — $14,600
- Navel orange — $11,500
- Valencia orange — $14,800
- Mandarin — $22,250
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 citrus.
If possible, seek out advice from people who grow citrus in your area as well as knowledgeable suppliers.
Talk to qualified consultants who are experienced in citrus 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 has been contributed by AgFirst, Citrus New Zealand, Fresh Facts and 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