As we move deeper into 2026, it is already clear that this will be an exceptionally busy year on the policy front. While Horticulture New Zealand leads the conversation on the vast magnitude of national proposals currently in play, Summerfruit NZ is working closely alongside them to ensure every position is viewed through a summerfruit lens.
There is a significant amount of change currently being navigated across various sectors, with reforms to the RMA, Local Council structures, and the RSE scheme serving as prime examples of the shift in our operating environment. Our position is to carefully consider the materiality of these proposed reforms from a summerfruit perspective, ensuring that the issues with the greatest impact on our growers receive our greatest attention.
While we act to represent the interests of the industry, our effectiveness relies heavily on input from you. We encourage you to get involved, as your "on-the-ground" experience is what gives our advocacy weight. We are always happy to hear from members, whether you have a specific concern or just want to share your perspective on how the season is unfolding.
Your Feedback Drives Our Focus
To ensure we are focusing on the right issues, we will be actively seeking your feedback throughout the year. We recently sent a survey to growers and packhouses to evaluate the opportunity to build a pest and disease training module on our learning platform.
In the coming weeks, please look out for two further surveys:
- Export Members: We will be running a survey to help inform our market access focus, ensuring we are prioritising the right improvements, development and maintenance activities.
- Workforce Requirements: We will also be surveying members on seasonal labour needs to help inform our concerns regarding gaps in current visa settings.
I appreciate that filling in surveys is not everyone's cup of tea, but I really encourage you to have your say. Please don't underestimate the value this provides; it is the data we need to be effective. We are making a real effort to keep these surveys concise and in a format that you can easily complete on a mobile phone or PC.
Save the Date: Mid-Year Regional Events
I am pleased to announce two regional events taking place this May: Hawke’s Bay on May 19th and Central Otago on May 21st.
These will be a great opportunity to connect with industry peers. Each event will include a technical session in the afternoon followed by a dinner. We are currently working on securing some fantastic guest speakers.
We would like to acknowledge the partners who make these events possible:
- Reemoon: Our Event Partner.
- Season Safe: Dinner sponsor
- Booths Logistics: Entertainment sponsor
- Horticentre Charitable Trust: Whose sponsorship enables us to bring in a guest technical speaker from Australia.
I look forward to catching up with many of you soon. As always, please feel free to reach out to me anytime on 027 461 6020.