T&G reports strong start to premium apple season thanks to high-quality crop

Producer T&G Global’s branded apple portfolio started 2026 strong, with solid sales for Northern Hemisphere fruit across domestic and export markets. The company also reports an excellent crop of high-quality fruit, which is being harvested in Aotearoa New Zealand, and exported to key international markets.

With the New Zealand Jazz apple harvest nearly complete, the first of T&G’s New Zealand Envy apples are now being picked in Tairāwhiti Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, and Nelson.

In a post published to the company’s website, T&G Chief Operating Officer Apples, Shane Kingston, said favorable weather across the growing season has supported the development of a high-quality crop of T&G’s premium Jazz and Envy apples, perfectly timed to meet customer and consumer demand in Asia and North America.

“Growing conditions through the season have been positive, with hot sunny days and cool nights. This has helped color and brix develop exceptionally well, resulting in sweet, crisp fruit and one of the best premium branded crops we’ve seen in recent years,” Kingston said.

The executive added that the Jazz harvest started in early March, with the first shipment departing late last week from Nelson Port, bound for China. The variety is already available nationwide in New Zealand in supermarkets and retail outlets.

T&G projects a positive outlook for the season 

The Envy harvest is expected to conclude by mid-April, said the executive, who also explained that T&G has secured vessels and containers to ensure the early and seamless arrival of the fruit during the transition to the company’s Aotearoa New Zealand-grown crop.

Kingston said that Northern Hemisphere-grown Envy apples have paved the way for success for the company’s Southern Hemisphere crop in Asia and North America. The results have been promising, says the executive, and the fruit has performed well across all key markets over the past five months. 

“In Asia, sales of our premium Envy brand are performing strongly, in both value and volume, and in North America, the variety continues to experience year-on-year growth,” he explained.

The positive start to the 2026 season builds on a strong 2025 performance for T&G and its grower network.

Last year, T&G delivered total returns of $172 million to its network of independent Aotearoa New Zealand growers. This represented an increase of $34 million, or 25 percent, on the previous season. Envy apple returns improved by $0.70 per average tray carton equivalent (TCE), while Jazz apple returns rose by $4.24 per average TCE.

“Delivering strong value and returns for our growers remains a key priority,” Kingston said. “We’re pleased with the uplift achieved in 2025 and are focused on continuing that momentum into the 2026 season.”

*All images courtesy of T&G Global

Related stories

T&G wins another PVR legal battle in China resulting in destruction of illegal trees

Premium apples fuel T&G Global's strong 2025 financial results, with profit up 269 percent