NEW ZEALAND - Zespri™ recently pulled back the curtain on its financial results for 2022–23, sharing insights on the impact of cost increases, a labor shortage, and other supply chain challenges.

“This was one of our toughest-ever seasons, and the industry worked incredibly hard to deliver our fruit to market, despite facing an extraordinary number of challenges including a significant labor shortage,” said Chief Executive Officer Dan Mathieson, noting that the results are indicative of what’s been a very difficult period for many primary industries “We continued to see strong demand and pricing in [the] market and secured more than $100 million in savings via our foreign exchange hedging policy. However, quality costs have significantly impacted grower returns, which have dropped from the highs recorded in recent seasons.”

Some of the highlights shared in Zespri’s financial summary include:

• Zespri global operating revenue: NZ$4.22 billion ($2.53 billion USD)
• Zespri global fruit sales revenue: NZ$3.92 billion ($2.37 billion USD)
• Zespri global trays sold: 183.5 million trays

“We know this is a challenging period for growers, particularly Green growers, given the fact we also have lower volumes of fruit in the 2023–24 season,” added Mathieson. “The investment we’ve made in building consumer demand and a world-leading fruit brand, alongside our long-term customer and supply chain relationships, means we’re well placed to get back on track and increase the value we can deliver back to growers, the industry, and New Zealand communities.

“Reducing our quality costs will be central to this, and the industry is working hard across the supply chain to make sure we’re once again delivering consistently great quality fruit to consumers in 2023–24 and beyond,” Mathieson continued.

To view the financial results in-depth, in addition to more comments from Mathieson, click here.

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Zespri™