Strong demand and market return from Zespri’s largest-ever crop have seen the kiwifruit marketer top NZD five billion in global sales in the 2024/25 season, exceeding the goal set in 2015 of NZD 4.5 billion by 2025.
Zespri sold a record 220.9 million trays of kiwifruit in 2024/25, an increase from 164.2 million trays in 2023/24.
Direct returns to the New Zealand industry reached more than NZD three billion for the first time in 2024/25, with Total Fruit and Service Payments spread across New Zealand’s growing regions, including the Bay of Plenty, Northland, the East Coast, Nelson and the Waikato.
Zespri’s net profit after tax was NZD 155.2 million, down from NZD 173.3 million in 2023/24. This was mainly due to reduced licence revenue from a reduction in available hectares.
Excluding licence, the company’s net corporate profit is a record NZD 79.8 million, up NZD 20.4 million from 2023/24. The expected total net dividend is NZD 0.77 cents per share.
Zespri CEO Jason Te Brake said it’s pleasing to deliver such a strong result for growers and shareholders, which reflects an industry-wide effort to deliver a record crop and strong sales in key markets.
“We’ve increased both volume and value in our key markets despite downward pressure in the category and surpassed a significant milestone in reaching NZD 5 billion in global fruit sales, exceeding our longstanding sales goal set a decade ago,” said Te Brake.
“That’s a mark of pride for our industry, and reflects the strong demand we continue to see for our fruit and the efforts the whole industry has put in to focus on providing another high-quality fruit crop. We’re returning extreme value to our growers, with our highest recorded direct returns to the New Zealand industry, breaking the NZD 3 billion threshold in 2024/25.”
At a per-hectare level, returns are up and at record levels for Green, Organic Green, and Sweet Green, reflecting the season’s improved yields following a challenging few years for growers. Zespri has also been able to return strong value at a per-tray level for all categories in a record crop year, with final average per-tray returns above our February forecast.
“Our corporate results are also positive, with our net profit after tax excluding licence revenue reaching a record NZD 79.8 million, and our New Zealand Supply segment delivering a profit of NZD 56.4 million in 2024/25, up from the NZD 10.2 million loss in 2023/24 on the back of the larger crop, strong value in market and a focus on greater overhead efficiencies.”
Zespri’s non-New Zealand Supply sales have also performed well, with NZD 652.4 million in sales and 26.5 million trays sold.
The Brake added that ZGS has played a critical role in supporting the launch of the New Zealand sales season. Following last year's successful Producer Vote to expand production, offshore volumes are expected to increase in the coming years, helping to deliver more substantial returns to growers in New Zealand and around the world.
2024/25 was a positive year for the industry, and Zespri was excited to build on this momentum as it progresses into its 2025/26 season.
“We focus on delivering another strong season and maximising the value we return to growers with even more fruit to sell. Our sales have started well, particularly in Europe and the US, and we’ve made a strong start in Asia despite generally softer market conditions,” he added.
“At the same time, we’re looking ahead to the next 10 years, and how we can continue to deliver value for growers together, built around creating brand-led demand, transforming our global supply chain and our innovation programme to create a leading product strong portfolio.”
