New Zealand's apple production is due to be 6% lower this season due a cool start to spring, but a warm summer has improved the crop's quality, website Nzherald.co.nz reported. 

The story reported that grower body Pipfruit NZ said the harvest of some 551,201 metric tons (MT) of fruit - mainly apples - began this week.

"The cool start to spring, in Nelson and Hawkes Bay in particular, meant the total crop is down 6 per cent on 2014 and the harvest two weeks later," Pipfruit NZ's business development manager Gary Jones was quoted as saying.

Jones added that every growing region had had an exceptionally warm mid-summer, which meant apples had developed a well-rounded sweetness, fresh crispness and vibrant colour.

Pipfruit NZ also allegedly expects high export demand for this year's crop, which will arrive in 70 markets within the next few weeks.

A recent listeria outbreak in the U.S. promoted some safety concerns in parts of the Asia-Pacific region, and Jones reportedly said he expected this to lead to higher demand for New Zealand apples, given the country's 'stringent' food safety system.

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