Rockit™ partnership attracts investors.

A group of 100 kiwi investors are the new owners of the first Rockit™ apple orchard development in the Gisborne region. 

Over the coming months 37,800 Rockit™ apple trees will be planted at Te Arai Orchard LP. The orchard will be developed and then managed by Rockit Global.

Over 30% of the 165 hectares of Rockit™ licensed trees to be planted in 2021, are on MyFarm syndicates.

Since forming a partnership with Rockit Global in 2018, MyFarm has enabled 275 kiwi investors to invest in three Rockit™ orchard developments with a total asset value of $45.8million.

This little apple offers many parallels with SunGold™ kiwifruit but with a much lower setup and licence cost, including;

Significant market premiums

Grower returns have exceeded $70/TCE (Tray Carton Equivalent) – compared to commodity apples at around $25/TCE and club varieties at $35-50/TCE.

Strong growth in Japan, India and Middle East is creating more diversification in Rockit Global Limited’s export markets.

Licensed and protected variety

Rockit™ apples are the world’s first commercially successful miniature apple. Rockit Global has held the exclusive world rights to the apple since 2010 with orchards under licence in Australia, United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Belgium.

Only growers with licence can sell under the Rockit™ brand

There are nearly 500 hectares of the trees planted in New Zealand, with another 150ha due to be planted this year, and 250ha next year

Modern growing systems and good management.

An example of this is the new Gisborne orchard, Te Arai which will apply Plant and Food’s Future Orchard Planting System (FOPS), to enable increased use of machinery to drive productivity and improve fruit quality. FOPS orchards, through the training of the apple trees, allow simplification of labour-intensive tasks and set up orchards for future automation.