Bay of Plenty Business News June/July 2019

12 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS June/July 2019
Italian expert praises NZ
stink bug approach
A visiting Italian biosecurity expert has
praised New Zealand’s efforts to deal with
a stink bug incursion before it happens,
putting this country “on another planet” to
his homeland.
By RICHARD RENNIE
Professor Claudio Ioriatti,
from the Italian
agricultural and horticultural
research centre Fondazione
Edmund Mach in
Torino, recently visited Tauranga
as part of an AgMARDT
(Agricultural and Marketing
Research and Development
Trust) sponsored trip.
Ioriatti has worked closely
with Plant and Food Research
staff for 25 years on both countries’
mutual biosecurity issues.
The professor said the
brown marmorated stink bug
was the worst insect incursion
northern Italy has experienced
in recent years - and this in a
country that has averaged two
new alien species a year for the
past 20 years.
It first appeared in significant
numbers in 2012, with the
region’s plentiful and productive
orchards providing a varied
food source to thrive, while
dwellings offer over-wintering
habitat.
“The estimated cost now to
orchardists and growers in my
region Trentino is 150 million
Euro a year, so you can under-
Every team needs a coach
Behind every successful sports team
is an experienced coach and business
is no different.
BeeNZ know this to be true and have
partnered with Ingham Mora from the
beginning.
BeeNZ developed from creating an
opportunity out of a problem. In 2005,
Julie and David Hayes purchased beehives
to pollinate their orchards and by
2015, they had grown to 1200 hives and
an MPI certified honey extraction facility.
It was at this time they decided to design
and build a purpose-built honey processing
and packing facility, launch their own
premium honey brand and begin exporting
their product.
The Hayes benefited from the solid
value and support they received from Ingham
Mora through their business journey
from orchards to honey.
Since the start of 2019, BeeNZ has
participated in financial awareness training
with Ingham Mora which has really
helped them focus and better understand
the big picture around their business and
financials.
“Having those resources as part of
their offerings takes Ingham Mora from
just being an accountancy firm to a fully
immersed financial and business development
partner for our business”.
BeeNZ are also tapping into the seminars
and coaching services on offer at
Ingham Mora as BeeNZ places significant
value on the up-skilling and development
of their team.
If – like BeeNZ - your business needs a
coach and direction for the future, give our
stand why growers want to control
it.”
Ministry for Primary Industries
estimates are that a stink
bug incursion into New Zealand
could cost this country
$4.2 billion in lost earnings by
2030.
To date only isolated numbers
of the bugs have been
detected.
It means when -
rather than if - the
bug arrives you are in
a very good position
to deal to it.
- Claudio Ioriatti
In Italy chemical controls
for the bug are limited to only
two spray options, and these
can only be applied in minimal
amounts due to fruit retailer
restrictions on spray use.
Ioriatti said the silver lining
of the bug’s presence was that
it moved into urban dwellings
over winter, drawing broader
attention to its presence, and
with that the community desire
to do something about its control.
He and his colleagues have
developed a smartphone app
for people to report bug infestations,
including taking a photo
and loading in location data to
make tracking incursions in
real time possible.
Pheromone traps have
proven relatively poor at trapping
the bugs.
Most orchards now have to
be draped in protective netting,
proven to be the most effective
means of keeping the bugs out
as they migrate back to ripening
fruit over late spring-summer.
But orchardists are also conscious
they operate in a heavily
touristic environment, where
perceptions of Italian countryside
do not always accommodate
unsightly artificial netting.
“We are selling our landscape
to five million visitors a
year here. Tourism is 15 percent
of our region’s income, so
using the netting is really something
we would like to avoid.”
The challenge to researchers
like Ioriatti is compounded
by Italian laws that prevent the
introduction of a non-native
species to control an embedded
pest like the stink bug.
New Zealand authorities
have approved the introduction
of a known stink bug parasite,
the Samurai wasp, which can
be released immediately should
team a call to discuss how we can futureproof
your business model, identify and
solve issues and achieve the results you
want.
Level 2, 60 Durham Street
Tauranga 3144
07 927 1200
www.inghammora.co.nz
Professor Claudio Ioriatti: recently
addressed biosecurity experts in
Tauranga. Photo/Richard Rennie.
a stink bug outbreak occur here.
“It means when - rather than
if - the bug arrives you are in
a very good position to deal to
it,” he said.
“We are required to find a
native enemy in Italy and have
a parasite species, but unfortunately
the parasitism rate is
only 17 percent - it’s too low.”
Researchers are studying
their options, which also
Strong growth in volume
and value across all kiwifruit
categories in the
completed season has resulted
in Zespri reporting operating
revenue from global sales and
licence release revenue exceeding
$3 billion for the first time.
Zespri chair Bruce Cameron
says growers and their communities
are benefiting from
increasing demand for Zespri
kiwifruit and from the industry’s
growth to drive and meet
that demand.
“Consumers around the
world are increasingly embracing
healthier products and want
more of our kiwifruit because
they know it is a convenient
way to get their daily nutrition
and because it tastes great,” said
Cameron.
The results reflect continued
strong international demand,
with Zespri selling a total of
167.2 million trays of kiwifruit
in 2018/19, a 21 percent
increase on the 138.6 million
trays sold in the previous season.
Revenue generated by
global kiwifruit sales and Sun-
Gold licence release increased
by 26 percent to $3.14 billion.
Total fruit and service payments
(including the loyalty premium)
to New Zealand growers
was up 24 percent to $1.82 billion,
while average orchard gate
returns to growers increased by
6 percent to $63,622 per hectare
for Green Kiwifruit, by 28
percent to $145,991 per hectare
for SunGold, by 40 percent to
$73,350 for Green Organic and
by 14% to $44,549 per hectare
for Sweet Green.
Cameron said increased
volumes of both Green and
SunGold Kiwifruit Zespri sold
last season had driven record
average returns per hectare for
both categories. While Sun-
Gold also returned record levels
per tray, Green returns per tray
were down slightly because
of higher-than-expected volumes
which led to an extended
sales window and associated
increases in quality costs.
“The sustained growth of
the industry is really encouraging
and the increase in average
returns is helping growers meet
increasing operational costs
including labour,” he said.
“Zespri’s ongoing success
include the use of Sterile Insect
Technique. This involves
releasing overwhelming numbers
of sterile male insects into
the wild to mate with females,
with no offspring produced.
“This is a potential tool for
us as we await the opportunity
[to introduce] the right parasite.”
Ioriatti said he was deeply
impressed by the level of bios-
ecurity awareness projects like
the Better Border Biosecurity
project launched in Tauranga
has brought, and the ability of
policymakers, communities
and scientists to work together
on biosecurity issues.
“Sooner or later the stink
bug will arrive here, but you
can use this time you have to
take a sustainable approach to
deal with the incursion.”
Zespri operating revenue
exceeds $3 billion
reflects the important partnerships
we have and continue to
build with our customers, distributors,
post-harvest operators
and growers, and is a strong
endorsement of our 12-month
supply strategy and ambition to
market the world’s leading portfolio
of kiwifruit year-round.”
Licence revenue and
royalties boost earnings
Zespri’s net profit after tax
increased to $179.8 million
from $101.8 million in 2017/18,
reflecting the strong season
results This was boosted by revenue
from the ongoing SunGold
licence release programme and
increased revenue from new
cultivar royalties.
Gross revenue of $192.6
million was generated by the
2018/19 round of SunGold
licence release – the second in
a five-year programme of annually
releasing 700ha of SunGold
conventional and 50 ha of Sun-
Gold organic licence to New
Zealand growers (subject to
annual review).
Zespri charges a royalty of
three percent to licensed growers,
which is split between
Zespri and Plant & Food
Research. Zespri’s share of
royalties was $28.4 million,
an increase of 37 percent from
the previous year, reflecting
both higher volumes and value
earned on sales this season.
The total dividend per share
in the 2018/19 financial year
is expected to be $0.92 versus
$0.50 in 2017/18. These dividend
figures take into account
the impacts of the targeted share
issue/buy-back and three-fortwo
share split transactions
during the financial year which
were aimed to better align the
ownership of shares with Zespri
growers.
Outlook for 2019/20
Zespri chief executive officer
Dan Mathieson said strong
growth was forecast again
this year.
“We’re very pleased with the
progress made in the 2018/19
season, but as always we’re
focused on doing better, delivering
the world’s best kiwifruit
to consumers and creating more
“We’re also broadening our
sales channels and getting
closer to the consumer to help
us understand what they want
and what we can do better.”
- Dan Mathieson
value for our growers, and all
of our partners. Our ambition
is to help drive greater value
through growing new markets
and increase our penetration in
existing ones.”
Mathieson said Zespri was
continuing to see strong growth
in its largest markets, including
Japan, China and Spain, and
making real progress in newer
ones like the US.
“We’re also broadening
our sales channels and getting
closer to the consumer to
help us understand what they
want and what we can do better,
and focusing on improving
our environmental and social
impact which is an important
part of our purpose and brandled
strategy,” he said.
Zespri is expected to release
additional details on its 2018/19
season when its annual report is
released in late June.
- By DAVID PORTER