Apple and pear yield down 33% in Hawke's Bay

Apple and pear yield down 33% in Hawke's Bay
Crop harvesting is under way in unaffected blocks. (Image: Getty)
Staff reporters
Damage to the North Island's East Coast wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle has knocked a third of this season's Hawke's Bay pipfruit harvest.That's a reduction of 4.3 million tray carton equivalents (TCEs) from the region's apple and pear numbers, resulting in a 21% drop overall on the industry's January export crop estimate, from 20.4 million to 16.1 million TCEs.Richard Punters, chair of NZ Apples and Pears said re-estimates for Tairāwhiti Gisborne crops were yet to be completed, but there had been a "clear distinction&...