Sales data from Bayleys latest Rural Insight report highlights increasing optimism returning to the kiwifruit sector.

Bayleys handled the sale of 15 kiwifruit orchards for the year to March 31, 2025, including nine orchards in Bay of Plenty, three in Northland, two in Hawke’s Bay and one in the Gisborne region, for total sales valued at nearly $47 million.

Bay of Plenty rural sales manager Matt Clutterbuck says the level of optimism among growers continues to build after a good early harvest of fruit this season.

“Kiwifruit has had a good lift and we’ve definitely seen more activity in the market for orchards over the past year,” he says.

“Zespri is a great brand and well respected globally. Zespri has done a good job of getting fruit on to supermarket shelves efficiently and quickly after it’s harvested,” he says.

“We’ve seen a really good early harvest this season too, and that attracts a premium for growers, and we also don’t miss out on that valuable shelf space to a competing product.”

He is expecting a modest lift in values for orchards over the coming year, based on the current harvest performance and confidence in the sector, but says it is likely to level out.

“Buyers are focusing on orchards that offer consistent yield and have good infrastructure in place. Location, secure water, good structures and infrastructure are key influences on prices,” he says.

The strong support from growers at the recent auction of licences for SunGold (G3) kiwifruit where 400ha was offered for sale, also highlights the strength of demand in the market at present.

“There was solid uptake across both the restricted and unrestricted offerings, reinforcing the long-term confidence in premium varieties and supporting capital investment in productive, high-yielding orchards.”

Clutterbuck says the 250ha of unrestricted orchard licences was also initially oversubscribed by about 200ha.

Several corporate and syndicated ownership entities are also emerging as potential buyers of land suitable to convert to kiwifruit orchards, alongside individual growers looking to expand.

He predicts the significant premium paid for G3 orchards over Haywards orchards will remain.

There could be as much as a $1 million difference per canopy hectare for a G3 orchard over a Haywards variety orchard, so the average prices paid in each kiwifruit region in the latest report need to be considered with that in mind.

Looking ahead, Clutterbuck says infrastructure and post-harvest logistics will become increasingly important for growers as the volume of kiwifruit continues to grow.

“That’s why orchards that are aligned with efficient packhouse networks or have invested in throughput improvements will be better positioned in the long term,” he says.

View the full Rural Insight report here.