If BerryCo NZ ever had
concerns that Kiwi
berry growers might
be wary of supporting
new blueberry varieties,
they were fleeting.
The Tauranga-based
company – which is part
of Australasia’s leading
blueberry partnership
with Australia’s Mountain
Blue Orchards – has
seen immense growth
and backing in the
past few years from
what general manager
Vaughan Judkins calls
"fantastic, innovative,
loyal growers in New
Zealand” who have the
tenacity to re-plant with
new varieties to ensure
they are at the forefront
of the industry.
BERRY BONANZA
It’s a statement the former Zespri
business manager still says with
awe. Without the knowledge and
experience of great growers, he says,
having great genetics is meaningless.
That knowledge – which includes
growers proven in other horticultural
areas – is paramount to producing
top berries. “We have a fabulous
mix of a steady loyal supply base,
complemented by some of the
world’s best breeding programmes,”
he says. “The future looks extremely
bright."
36 OCTOBER 2018
That progress ratifies the company’s
aims to innovate the New Zealand
berryfruit industry, and market what
is produced through collaborative
efforts with expert growers. Leading
from the front in technical excellence,
BerryCo offers the development of
superior varieties, along with global
marketing and logistics expertise.
Four years ago, BerryCo (a joint
venture between fresh produce
companies Valley Fresh in Australia
and Tauranga’s Southern Produce)
secured the rights to Mountain Blue
Orchards’ world-leading Southern
Highbush breeding programme,
including the Eureka variety which
can grow to the size of a $2 coin. The
variety was discovered as a chance
seedling by Australian breeder Ridley
Bell in 2008.
Large-sized, the berry is a hit with
Asian international markets with its
flavour and eating characteristics,
and can cater for early, mid and late
growing windows in New Zealand.
The fruit is large and crunchy, which
sets it apart from other similar
products, and ideal for the Asian
palette.
BerryCo has also obtained the rights
to a Northern Highbush programme
developed by Moondarra Genetics,
a research and development
company focused on developing and
commercialising high performing
Northern Highbush blueberry varieties
which have had MBO germplasm
introduced into the programme.
The northern-most Eureka grower –
just below Cape Reinga – is underway
in its first commercial harvest, with