Blackcurrants
The production of blackcurrants is done in the South Island of New Zealand, where the climate is ideally suited. The cold winter chill and warm harvest temperatures give us an ideal setting to produce blackcurrants of exceptional quality.
Low temperatures during the dormant time of the plants give them what is required to ensure a proliferation of bud burst during the spring time, meaning a good yield can be expected.
Because of the above factors, the berries produced are seen to be of very good quality, which easily compete with the rest of the world. We generally produce good yield factors for juice and anthocyanin production.
Food safety and certification.
New Zealand as a primary exporter for many years has developed and enhanced a very comprehensive food safety program, that ensures the production is up to standards of all world class inspection.
Each year we have all our production EUROGAP certified and follow all grow safe practices, which are approved and endorsed by our government.
In practical terms, this means absolute traceability of product to the area of harvest, and all spray applications recorded and signed off by each farmer, before product is accepted by any exporter. We believe this system to be comprehensive and is subject to annual review.
The Harvest
The crops are harvested from late December until the end of January, with some varieties maturing earlier than others. Generally, the harvest is completed on most farms within a three week period. Weather variation can sometimes play a part in this being a little longer.
The harvest is done by machine – a converted grape harvester – and has the capacity to harvest up to 60 m/tonne a day.
Varieties
We grow several varieties of blackcurrants: Magnus, Ben Ard, Ben Rua, and Murchison. We are constantly looking for new and better berries, as part of our on going program, hence why we are also growing several new varieties for evaluation.
Our farms produce about 2000 M/Tonne a year and we are always looking for long term business so we can stay committed to our passion for producing quality blackcurrants.