The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has just released a report that shows the devastatiion the deadly bacterial disease Psa-V has wreaked on the country’s Gold Kiwifruit industry.

The MAF report shows loss of vines since the virulent strain struck just over an year ago could take Gold kiwifruit production from 30 million tray to around 10 million.

At this stage about a quarter of kiwifruit orchards in New Zealand are known to have the bactera present.

The worst hit area is around Te Puke in the Bay of Plenty where 41 per cent of the total planted area is located.

But MAF is optimistic that up to 20 per cent of Te Puke’s Gold kiwifruit can still be harvested, and up to 80 per cent in the wider Bay of Plenty.

Whilst Psa has mainly hit Gold orchards, the disease has been slower to affect Green kiwifruit orchards, even though infection numbers have ramped up during the spring.

The future impact of Psa on green orchards remains uncertain, the report says.

Latest statistics from Kiwifruit Vine Health, the Government organisation set up to manage the crisis, show that 927 orchards have been identified with Psa-V.

Overall export volumes are expected to decline by 21 per cent to around 89 million trays, and export returns to fall 18 per cent to $862 million.