6.19      Boysenberries

6.19.1 Industry profile

New Zealand’s 19 commercial boysenberry growers annually produce around 2,000 tonnes of fruit from vines planted on 165 hectares. Boysenberry harvest occurs from mid-December to mid-January. Nelson is the main growing region.

Approximately 800 tonnes of frozen boysenberries are exported, of which around 260 tonnes is processed into concentrate. Boysenberries are generally used as an ingredient in jams, ice cream, drinks, yoghurt, or preserves. Processed boysenberry products are also used by bakery and food service companies.

Consumer interest in boysenberries has been increasing with the growing awareness of the health benefits from antioxidants and other phytochemicals found in purple berry fruit. Boysenberries remain a prescribed product under the Horticulture Export Authority Act. However, in late 2013 Boysenberries New Zealand opted to suspend the use of export licences, so exporters no longer required a licence to export and the sector is not utilising the HEA structure. The vast majority of product is exported by the grower-owned cooperative Boysenberries New Zealand Ltd, which also fills the role of the industry group that represents the interests of growers, exporters and processors.

The export market has suffered over the last two seasons due to climate impacts affecting fruit yield which was below expectations. However, the loss of processing capacity from the closure of the Cedenco factory in Nelson in 2020 had a major impact and severely limited the production of boysenberry concentrate in New Zealand. The specialised evaporation and filtration equipment required to process boysenberries is not available in New Zealand, so the industry was forced to move processing offshore. In 2022, fruit was sent for processing to a Canadian factory that specialises in the production of berry fruit concentrates.

6.19.2 Exports

Boysenberries are a difficult product to handle fresh so are generally exported as block frozen fruit, individually quick frozen (IQF) berries, puree, or concentrate. Total exports of all forms of boysenberries were worth $5.8 million in 2024, representing a 60% increase from $3.6 million in 2022, and almost reaching $6.4 million attained in 2020.

Frozen boysenberry concentrate. Exports decreased to $0.30 million in 2024. There were no exports in 2023, and Kuwait was the only market in 2024. The average value of concentrate was $60,499/tonne for product sent to Kuwait, which was approximately twice the average value of $30,908/tonne in 2020 and $27,956/tonne in 2022. 

Table 6.19.1: Frozen boysenberry concentrate (2009.89.20.25, 2009.89.30.35) export markets 2022-2024 (year ending June, tonnes, $NZ FOB)

Note that 8kgs of fruit convert into 1kg (0.001tonne) concentrate

Individual quick frozen. In 2024, IQF boysenberry exports were worth $0.12 million, and have significantly declined from a value of almost $1.0 million in 2020 and $0.19 million in 2022. Australia remains a key market, while volumes exported to most markets are small and variable. There have been no exports of IQF boysenberries to the USA since the first exports were sent to this market in 2020. 

Table 6.19.2: Individual quick frozen boysenberry (0811.90.19.12) export markets 2022-2024  (year ending June, tonnes, $NZ FOB)

Other boysenberry exports. Exports of non-IQF frozen boysenberries almost ceased in 2023 and 2024. In 2022, export value was $2.7 million. Trade in this commodity has been fluctuating since 2016, peaking at $2.9 million in 2020. The EU was the largest market but there were no exports to the EU in 2023 or 2024. Canada and Norway appeared to be emerging markets in 2022 but there have been no further exports to these markets. Export volumes remain small and variable. 

Table 6.19.3: Other boysenberry (0811.90.19.18) export markets 2022-2024  (year ending June, tonnes, $NZ FOB)

Frozen prepared/preserved boysenberries. Exports of frozen prepared/preserved boysenberries have increased significantly after many years fluctuating between $0.14 to $0.22 million in value. In 2023, export value increased to $2.4 million, and increased 2.3-fold to a value of $5.3 million in 2024. The EU and Canada have emerged as the top two markets and account for 81% of exports by value. Australia was previously the largest market. The average value increased 44% from $4,349/tonne in 2022 to $6,280/tonne in 2024.  

Table 6.19.4: Frozen prepared/preserved boysenberry (2008.99.31.11) export markets 2022-2024 (year ending June, tonnes, $NZ FOB)

6.19.3 Barriers to export

Cost of tariffs

Although the EU is the largest market, tariffs on boysenberry products to the EU were high and account for almost all tariffs paid on boysenberry exports. These tariffs were eliminated when the New Zealand-EU FTA came into effect on 1 May 2024. The estimated cost of tariffs of $245,838 for prepared/preserved boysenberries was calculated for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 April 2024. There was an immediate saving of $444,167 for exports in the months of May and June for the current reporting period when 66% of volume to the EU was exported. For more information on EU tariffs, refer to Chapter 7.6. Under the CPTPP, the tariff into Japan on boysenberry concentrate phased out to zero in 2023, while the tariff on IQF was eliminated when the agreement entered into force in 2018. Kuwait and Fiji impose a 5% tariff on boysenberry products.

The $0.25 million estimated cost of tariffs in 2024 equates to an average $12,956 across each of the 19 commercial boysenberry growers. This average value, which is largely dependent on the volume of exports to the EU, is significantly lower than in 2022 and 2020 when the average tariff was $19,800/grower and $29,135/grower, respectively. The elimination of tariffs to the EU will remove this barrier to trade. 

Table 6.19.5: Cost of boysenberry tariffs (based on 2024 FOB value)

¹ Estimated cost of tariffs to the EU is calculated for the period 1 July 2023 to 20 April 2024.

See Chapter 7.6 European Union for more details.

SPS and other barriers

As almost all boysenberry fruit is exported frozen there are no known phytosanitary market access issues associated with this product.