New Zealand Squash

New Zealand produces around 90,000 tonne of squash annually on 7,500 hectares of prime cropping land and has a value of NZ$90,000,000. Most of our squash heads offshore, supplying the 300,000 tonne Japanese market.

New Zealand is Japan’s largest foreign supplier, working alongside:

• Hokkaido – 90,000 tonne
• Mainland Japan – 60,000 tonne
• Mexico – 30,000 tonne
• The Pacific Islands – 20,000 tonne

Here on the East Coast, there are only eight registered packhouses. These packhouses pack almost the entire New Zealand crop. They have extremely good control over the crop and have sophisticated systems in place for ensuring crop safety and quality control – all audited by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

It is also at the packhouse that the processing product is selected and stored for future processing. From the fresh crop of 90,000 tonne a further 10,000 to 15,000 tonne of good quality and competitively priced raw material is available. This large raw material base gives the New Zealand processors continuity of good quality supply even in a difficult climatic year.

The industry is organised under legislation provided by the Horticulture Export Authority and formed its own product group in 1988. This is an incorporated company called the New Zealand Kabocha Council whose members are growers, exporters and corporate representatives. The field to market integration facilitated by the Council is extremely important and customers can trust that they are buying product from a well-disciplined supply chain.