Kiwi apples a hit in Sydney

Napier applegrowing brothers Ross and Bruce Beaton have been making Sydneysiders happy.

They have been giving them their first taste of sweet and crunchy Pacific rose apples.

"They tell us they love it, absolutely love it," Ross Beaton said.

"Research shows that when people bite into crunchy apples it activates endorphins and they feel good. That’s what we’ve been telling people today. I’ve been watching them take a bite and the smiles on their faces tell me they feel great."

He and his brother were handing out apples yesterday at impromptu tastings on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House and at the city’s wholesale fruit and vegetable market – the first time New Zealand apples have been seen in Australia in 90 years.

They have air-freighted container-loads to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and will visit the other cities this week to sound out the market.

Beaton said potential buyers at the market were "a bit nervous".

"They’ve got customers for Australian apples and they don’t want to upset them. They have to be cautious."

Grower body Apple and Pear Australia has been leading a campaign against the lifting of the ban on New Zealand apples.

But Beaton said the welcome from people in Sydney showed that not every Australian agreed with a ban.

He said the market would take time to develop.

"The floodgates aren’t going to open. There’s not going to be a deluge of apples. All good things take time and it’s going to take time to build up to significant volumes."

The fight to lift the ban had been a team effort by scientists, diplomats and orchardists. "Now, we’ve been passed the ball and we’re scoring the try. It’s a bit like us winning the apple world cup."

The Beatons’ Apollo Apple Co is one of four companies from Hawke’s Bay landing apples in Australia this week. Others were shunning publicity yesterday, saying it was a sensitive issue.

The two main supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, have said they will not sell New Zealand apples. They have 70 per cent of the fruit and vegetable market, which leaves New Zealand dealing with independent stores and fruiterers, and the catering and hotel industry.

A recent Pipfruit New Zealand survey of 1000 shoppers in Australia found that 46 per cent thought New Zealand apples had always been available to them.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/5502867/Kiwi-apples-a-hit-in-Sydney?