EQM attended the Summerfuit conference in Napier and the National Horticulture Field Day in Hastings.
The Summerfruit conference was an excellent event. We learnt a lot about what is going on in the summer fruit sector.
We had two UNITEC representatives on our exhibition stand. There was a lot of talk about the growth of cherry plantings, both in Central Otago and Hawke’s Bay.
Since 2015 cherry production has grown from 3.4 million (3500 tonnes) kilograms to 5 million (5000 tonnes) in 2017. This trend is expected to continue.
“We talked about simple packing lines and conveyor systems that can get new growers started and make facilities more efficient as they scale up production.We also talked about new specialised equipment for summerfruit such as crate and bin tipping equipment as well as full turnkey defect sorting solutions.
“What was also hugely beneficial was getting to talk to the key players within the sector. We were able to get ‘in the know’ with what trends are happening in the markets they are selling their premium produce into.
Overall Summerfuit NZ’s goal is to increase the value of the summerfruit industry four-fold by 2035. The increased production will thus demand greater productivity. Therefore we expect plenty of scope for EQM to introduce more of the latest technology, turnkey solutions and packing line equipment.
23rd – 25th July 2018 we headed to Christchurch for the Horticulture New Zealand conference at Airforce Museum of New Zealand. We also attended Foodtech Packtech in Auckland on 18-20 September 2018.
