NEW ZEALAND

Feedback from the Trade on Their Plans and Interest in the USA Pear Season:

Face-to-face and Zoom meetings have been held with the majority of the New Zealand trade. While the trade is supportive and interested in USA Pears, the exchange rate and availability of both NZ domestic pears and Australian Packham pears will reduce import opportunities, even in this ideal USA season. USA Green Anjou face a unique challenge in NZ retail, as they are more expensive than Australian Packham pears but look similar. This means they often get coded at checkout and self-checkout as Australian Packham, creating lost profits and generating concern among retailers. For one retailer, the impact of the mis-coding is significant enough they are considering not stocking USA Green Anjou while there are Australian Packham available in stores. The pear of opportunity for New Zealand will be USA Bosc. Importers and retailers alike report they are interested in importing Bosc as the NZ local Bosc finishes. As a reminder to the industry - New Zealand MAF has a track record of fumigating Bosc. Please be aware of NZ's low tolerance for leaves in the box and for mites, as both can lead to fumigation. Some importers may explore splitting loads with apples. This was mentioned a couple of times by importers as a way to bring in USA Pears but with more realistic volumes.

Expectations for Any Freight or Logistics Challenges:

USA fruit sent via Seattle takes one month to arrive in New Zealand according to one importer. Fruit exported via Long Beach ships and arrives fortnightly. There have been no mentions of freight delays or concerns.

Opportunities in Your Market for Specific Varieties, Sizes, and Grades:

USA Bosc is going to be the main opportunity for New Zealand. To date, the trade has all mentioned looking at importing USA Bosc once New Zealand local Bosc finishes.

Update on the Competition in the Market:

Local fruit wholesalers report New Zealand did not have a 'bumper bumper' season like last year, but they did have a 'bumper' season. Recent storms in the South Island's Nelson region have impacted pear trees, but this will impact 2026-27 pear volume and not this season. PIQA pears, the bright red cross between a European and Nashi Pear, has been plentiful through September. This NZ-grown fruit is sized smaller than Asian export preference, meaning growers have an abundance of small fruit which is being sold locally to clear stocks. Given PIQA can't be controlled atmosphere stored, retailers expect most of the fruit to be sold by the end of September. Importers report there is plenty of Australian Packham. The news out of Australia is one large Packham grower has exited the pear business, and while noted he was a large volume grower, export Australian Packham remain plentiful.

Political or Economic Issues Impacting Imports, Retail, or Consumer Behavior:

Several retailers commented they are continuing to see the ongoing impacts of the recession in reduced consumer spending. They are seeing increased house brand purchasing, more sales of products on ad and consumers looking for value. This consumer purchase behavior does give them some concern that any USA Pear imports will be seen as expensive in the context of shoppers looking for value. New Zealand's June Quarter GDP dropped 0.9% and as Stats NZ notes, "a reduction well over market expectations." NZ's GDP has fallen in 3 of the past 5 quarters. NZ economists are expecting the Reserve Bank to cut the OCR rate faster and larger than originally expected to try and spur spending.

Other Brief Comments:

During every trade meeting, marketing support has been offered to the trade and to retailers to generate interest in USA Pear imports.