NZ’s fruit bowl shrinks as Hawke’s Bay plantations continue to feel the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle

New Zealand’s fruit bowl shrinks as Hawke’s Bay plantations continue to feel the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle.

The region is approaching the second anniversary of the storm, which was one of the worst weather events in Aotearoa’s history, killing 11 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Millions of tonnes of silt were dumped across Hawke’s Bay, suffocating crops and resulting in the uprooting of over 600 hectares of fruit trees.

Apple grower Paul Paynter lost more than 180,000 trees and told RNZ many were still dying.

“Trees are dying all the time and there’s phytothera and some other diseases that are kicking in. The health of the trees was compromised and some trees take a year or two to fall over.”

His family owns The Yummy Fruit Co and has been growing apples for over 160 years. He said Cyclone Gabrielle dealt them a blow which proved difficult to recover from.

“It’s like a negative Powerball win. It’s a loss of about 20 percent of production … It’s traumatic and you’re compromised so you can’t possibly make money.

“It’s a long job and a hard road. We control our death.”

Paynter is one of about nine apple growers who have been given access to the Kanoa loan scheme, which helps them borrow more from the bank, with the government guaranteeing 80 percent of the loan’s default risk.

But Paynter said that was not enough to save many small and medium-sized fruit growing businesses.

“The loan scheme allows people to replant and grow green shoots, but some balances are so bad that people will have to leave the industry eventually.

“The thing about farmers … is when farmers don’t farm anymore, they don’t talk about it, people die quietly in rural communities. They’re not whiners and they walk off into the sunset.”

He predicted more growers would leave the industry.

“None who have been significantly affected will survive in their current form.”

Reflecting on the past two years, Paynter’s voice wavered as he explained what motivated him to try to keep the company afloat.

“It’s more desperate. It’s more important. We have 360 ​​full-time employees and you see them show up, you know, with their kids in the back seat, and you’ve got to keep paying the wages because we’ve got plenty of mouths to feed, plenty of roofs to hold our people’s heads.

“Money moving around and keeping people working is the most important thing. It’s about supporting our community.”

‘We have listened to the sector’

Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said the government had supported cyclone-affected growers and farmers.

“Following the major weather events in early 2023, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) provided support for a rapid recovery effort for affected farmers, growers and rural communities.

“The funding enabled affected farmers and growers to carry out emergency repair work, including fencing, and clearing silt to save trees and vines.

“Along with significant other public funding, Budget 2023 provided an additional $35.4 million to continue to support rural recovery.”

The government’s review of the Resource Management Act would also help the sector, McClay said.

“We have listened to the sector and are moving quickly to remove unworkable rules and unnecessary regulation to free up farmers and growers to get on with producing food and fibre.”

‘A long road’

Hawkes Bay Fruit Growers Association chairman Brian Nisbet said many growers were facing a double burden, the ongoing economic fallout from the storm and low apple prices, both locally and overseas.

“We need prices to rise.

“Most (growers) would have borrowed huge amounts of money to start again and it’s going to take a long time to pay back.

“All of our local costs and compliance and wages are up, but the apple (prices) overseas that we sell, and locally, are not.

And if that wasn’t enough, many trees damaged by the storm still die years later.

“You don’t really, you know, you can’t really say right away. It can take two or three years for trees to get affected and die.

But while many in the region are struggling, most remain positive, encouraged by a strong growing season.

“We had an excellent spring, excellent right up until Christmas, so the season looks to be early.

“There’s a good crop out there. It’s a clean crop as far as pests and diseases go, and it’s a big crop.

“So growers are optimistic.”

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