“In August we shipped the first New Zealand container of potatoes to Taiwan" - New Zealand News Beep

New Zealand vegetable exporter Harvest Fresh celebrated 20 years in business this year. The company exports over 120040 fcl containers a year of red and brown onions, carrots, and potatoes. This is in a normal year, with onions being the largest export crop, but 2026 was far from normal, with shipments of carrots halted to the Middle East, explains Michael Croft, General Manager at Harvest Fresh.

“Our carrot export programme to the Middle East was halted due to the conflict there. We were just fortunate there were no carrots on the water.”

Harvest Fresh’s onions come from both North and South Islands, with the majority coming from Hawke’s Bay. New Zealand carrots are sourced exclusively from Southland at the bottom of the South Island and also from a partner in Western Australia; potatoes come from both North and South Islands.

New Zealand onions
The area of onions grown has been reducing due to low returns, said Michael.

The company’s main export markets are Europe, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.

“Overall, the markets have been tough this export season, especially with the Middle East closed off to carrots and the European onion returns low.

“Europe has had big domestic volumes of onions, which has influenced export volumes. We were down slightly on previous years – shipping has been a factor in recent years with longer transit making on-time delivery a challenge.”

European onions
Harvest Fresh has strong relationships with several partners in Europe, which enables them to export European onions to customers when the New Zealand supply is finished. “The volumes we export from Europe change seasonally, and historically this has been primarily focused on supplying our customers in Japan when they have been short due to weather conditions; however, it’s a small percentage of our overall total exported volume. All in all, demand has been quite flat this year.”

The European onions are also exported to Indonesia. By combining the New Zealand and European supply, Harvest Fresh can offer a continuous supply year-round in some years.

Looking ahead
Europe has suffered from many heatwaves leading to drought conditions this summer; predictions are for a shortage of onions. Michael said that they hope to send more this year.

“We will start shipping from the end of January. In a typical year, we would foresee no problems, particularly when shipping is going well; however, we are dependent on the climate, and this year we are getting predictions of a strong El Niño. In New Zealand, this can mean dry conditions, so growers are mitigating the risk by using irrigation where it’s available and ensuring precise delivery of water to suit the conditions. El Niño can also bring increased westerly winds, so ensuring the planting and harvesting are carried out in optimal conditions is vital. A hot and dry summer can produce an excellent season, so we will wait and see.

“We are fortunate to have diversification of supply, so if we have less than ideal conditions in one region we can switch to another with a different climate.”

First potato shipment to Taiwan
“In August we shipped the first New Zealand container of potatoes to Taiwan. Until recently, New Zealand did not have phytosanitary access to Taiwan, but we have worked hard as an industry to turn this around. The first container has come from the South Island, and we are excited to see how this market progresses in the future.”

For more information:
Kate de Lautour
Harvest Fresh
[email protected]

“In August we shipped the first New Zealand container of potatoes to Taiwan”

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