The increase to 18.4 million trays in the year ended March 31, from 15.5m a year earlier, is an important step towards the ambition of 12-month supply, chief executive Dan Mathieson told shareholders at the annual meeting.
As markets and products continue to develop and improve there will be further sales opportunities.
Globally sourced fruit are still a small part of the overall volumes.
Zespri’s sales include 76.6m trays of NZ-grown Green kiwifruit, up from 64.4m, and 65.4m trays of Gold, up from 52.1m.
Supply from overseas included 7.8m trays of Green, down from 9.1m, and 10.6m of Gold, up from 6.3m.
As well, there were exports of organic Green and Sweet Green.
Zespri expects continuing growth in Gold sales as new orchards come to full production and that is where its hopes lie.
The higher than expected volumes of Green kiwifruit caused challenges in the 2018-19 year, leading to a longer-than-ideal sales period and pushing per-tray returns lower, to $5.45 from $6.71, Mathieson said.
The higher volumes did increase returns per-crop hectare, to $63,622 from $59,981 a year earlier.
The per-tray returns are expected to vary as yield and volumes change with Zespri focusing on maintaining and improving the per-hectare returns. It is working out the optimal supply window for Green to help maintain value and avoid that longer sales period.
Longer term, the group expects a reduction in the Green supply to steadier volumes between 60m and 70m a year, with per-hectare returns needing to improve each year to help offset rising costs, he said.
Despite the lower per-tray returns for Green, the kiwifruit sector is well ahead, with total world sales rising more than 20% and global revenues topping $3 billion. Total fruit and service payments to growers rose 24% to $1.8b.
Gold returns per-tray well ahead at $10.89 and the per-hectare return was $145,991, both record numbers.
Zespri plans big spending to replace outdated operating systems, covering the whole supply chain.
Mathieson has told shareholders the cost will not affect existing loyalty payments or dividend payout policy and it can be paid for over the next 10 years without going to the industry for more money.
Grower loyalty payments will be maintained at 25c a tray, as will the dividend payout ratio of between 70% and 90% of profit.
Chairman Bruce Cameron said Zespri is at one end of a very long international supply chain and improvements are needed all the way through.
A decision on whether to commercialise new Red and Green kiwifruit varieties will be made in September.
Zespri shares traded at $8.20 each on the Unlisted platform at time of writing, giving the group a market capitalisation of $1.5b.
The shares have lifted from $5.90 each on March 18, the first day of trading after shareholders were given one new share for every two they owned.
Cameron said adding value to the group does not have to mean processing.
“In our case it is the Zespri brand.”
