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Fresh Tomato Product Group update for June 2009

2009-07-06

Product Group committee meets in late June

The Fresh Tomato Product Group Committee met on 30 June. What follows is a summary of the individual member’s updates on the industry and the crops.

 

Dull, cold and wet

These three words about sum up the growing conditions experienced by most greenhouse tomato growers during autumn and early winter.

 

Some districts have experienced several periods of sunny days but associated with 6 or 7 nights of heavy frosts. Operating some hot water heaters in these conditions can be challenging and aggravated at times by good technical support not always being available when needed.

 

Crops

Late season crops appear to have held up well but obviously a lot more heat (and cost) has been required equating to record breaking fuel bills in May and probably also in June.

 

Psyllids have been seen in greenhouses as late as June. While grower knowledge and control has dramatically improved since the devastation that occurred in the summer of 2008 most would say they are not on top of this difficult insect yet. There is some science based confirmation from North America indicating that Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum is not directly related to the psyllid yellows in plants caused by the feeding of the tomato/potato psyllid. One will exist without the other and vice versa depending on the level of infestation.  This may well explain some of the earlier positive test results for Liberibacter without any evidence of psyllid yellows in the plants tested.

 

The tomato/potato psyllid has still not been seen in some plastic greenhouses in areas where the psyllid is known to be present and has been for some time. This is an interesting phenomenon that warrants further investigation. Bombus bumble bees don’t take kindly to the light generated by some plastic films and maybe the psyllid has a similar aversion. However, the psyllid does have a wide host range of plants to feed on in New Zealand.

 

The incidence of botrytis has been more prevalent and difficult to control than normal. This could be related to the very cold autumn and early winter temperatures and the additional heating requirements.

 

Some recent lots of new seedlings ex nursery have not been in the best of health, more so in the South Island, but overall this is a concern for growers starting off their new crops.

 

Prices

Prices achieved on tomatoes through this autumn and winter period have quite simply not been sufficient to pay the bills. It has been a long drawn out and difficult end to a terrible year for growers.

 

Growers are really struggling with this key aspect of their businesses and haven’t seen a lot of support from buyers, merchants or retailers, more especially now that the imports from Queensland are in full supply.

 

There doesn’t appear to be any long term pricing policies, or even forecasts, in the fresh tomato supply chain. This is a huge concern to growers and they want to see the buyers, merchants and retailers taking a much more long term approach plus a more responsible attitude to the future supply of NZ grown greenhouse tomatoes. Without such a commitment the greenhouse tomato growers will not survive another year of the returns received in the last 15 – 18 months. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out what the outcome of that will be.

 

Annual report and accounts

The annual report and accounts for the financial year 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2009 are complete and copies have been mailed out to all Fresh Tomato Growers. This occurred at the beginning of July. The highlights from the report are below.

 

This is Chairman Tony Ivicevich’s final Annual Report and Accounts for the Fresh Tomato Product Group after eleven years as its Chair. And what a year to end that role on where 2008 has to have been the annus horribilis for tomato growers.

 

First there was the sudden and unexpected flood of imports ex Queensland, Australia in May and June, from which there was no recovery price-wise in the local market. 

Then things compounded mid June when Biosecurity New Zealand imposed a ban on export certification as the first significant outcome of its discovery and announcement of the Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum connected with the tomato/potato psyllid.

 

For tomatoes this meant that access to our existing markets; e.g. Australia, Japan, Fiji and French Polynesia, would have to be regained before any export could take place. Australia is the main summer time export market and with it essentially ‘closed’ until further notice this created huge uncertainty amongst growers for the new season crops that start coming on stream from October. By November production was in full swing and the domestic market crashed and growers were out of pocket in a big way. Not just for a short period but right through until after Christmas.

 

A glimmer of light showed through mid December when Australia’s emergency provisions were announced, a new compliance programme hurriedly and expertly put in place, and exports to Australia temporarily recommenced.

 

The economic costs of this incursion are significant. The loss of the export markets for tomatoes and capsicums is estimated at approx $4million to the end of March 2009. The decline in the farm gate value of the greenhouse tomato industry, based on levy receipts between April 2008 and March 2009, is estimated at $6.28million. The financial impacts of this incursion have reached every tomato, capsicum, and tamarillo grower in the country and are just now reaching the potato growers where the impacts on tuber quality and yield may yet prove to be horrendous.

 

Overall the farm gate value of the Fresh Tomato Industry is down 6.7% this year compared with the previous year. This equates to a decline in farm gate value from $93.865million in 2007 to $87.586million in 2008.

 

The costs to Industry for emergency market access, compliance and research work on the psyllid/Liberibacter issue effecting capsicums and tomatoes to date have been just short of $250,000 and this is being funded on a shared two thirds/one third basis between Fresh Tomato and Fresh Vegetable Product Groups.