New Zealand’s summer fruit industry has been working super hard for over 20 years, and guess what? They’ve just introduced three awesome new kinds of apricots that are perfect for our country’s orchards.
Scientists from Plant & Food Research and Summerfruit NZ teamed up to create these tasty apricots. They mixed and matched different apricots to find the best ones that will grow well here in New Zealand and make everyone’s taste buds go “Wow!”
What’s so cool about these new apricots? Well, they’re extra sweet! Principal scientist Jill Stanley says that’s the big difference. These apricots are like nature’s candy.
Now, why is this a big deal? You might be wondering. Here’s the scoop: In 2022, the apricot exports from New Zealand dropped by a whopping 70%. That means we only made $1 million from selling apricots to other countries. But now, thanks to these new apricots, everyone is excited, and we’re hoping the apricot industry will bounce back!
Ardgour Valley Orchards near Cromwell is growing these new apricots on 20 hectares of land. Sharon Kirk, the orchard’s director, says these apricots are a game-changer.
People who tried these apricots in the town of Wanaka loved them! They said, “Are these what apricots should taste like?” That’s a big thumbs-up for our new fruity friends.
Right now, you might even find some of these apricots in your local supermarket. And guess what? The other kinds will be ready to sell to other countries next year.
Scientists believe these apricots will be a hit in places like Asia. In a taste test, they found that lots of people liked them. For the regular apricots, only 35% of people liked them, but for these new ones, it was 87% and 79% of people who liked them! That’s a big difference!
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