Apples
A growing industry
Apples: a $1 billion industry in 2025[i] with a bold industry ambition to reach $2bn by 2035[ii]
The New Zealand apple industry supplies the world with quality fruit. 65% of New Zealand’s annual harvest volumes are exported globally to more than 80 countries.
New Zealand apples continue to be in demand across the world, due in no small part to the reputation our growers have built based on producing a high quality, sustainable, and tasty product.
The sector has seen continued consolidation, led by a smaller number of high-performing vertically integrated growers. This has driven higher fruit quality standards, longer term supply contracts, and more consistent volumes through post-harvest facilities.
Productivity improvements, and revenue growth are being driven through advances in plant breeding genetics, adoption of new technologies, changes to planting systems in the field, improvements in packing line efficiency such as product grading, processing speed, and improvements to storage practices.
In 2024, 64%[iii] of New Zealand grown apples originated in the Hawke’s Bay, where the climate and soils of the Heretaunga Plains are acknowledged as having the perfect conditions to produce some of the best apples in the world.
[i] Apple and pear industry hits $1 billion in revenue for the first time - New Zealand Apples & Pears