29 Sep 2010

Avocado growers assess wind damage

6:07 am on 29 September 2010

Avocado growers in Bay of Plenty are counting their losses from last week's high winds and rain.

Strong winds that coincided with the start of this season's harvest knocked fruit from trees and uprooted fully matured trees.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Ltd, says that most of its 100 avocado growers have suffered fruit losses of between 5% - 30%.

Director, Hugh Moore, who is also a grower at Katikati, says some fruit also has wind damage.

He estimates the Bay of Plenty avocado crop will be down at least 10%, or by hundreds of thousands of trays, and says the storm will also have a devastating flow-on effect.

Mr Moore says the industry should know the full ramifications of the storm when the harvest is finished next month.