By Richard Rennie

Copyright farmersweekly

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Rockit Apples CEO Grant McBeath has responded to a series of Farmers Weekly questions about grower concerns over the company’s performance.

Some growers have told Farmers Weekly they intend to remove Rockit trees from their orchards because of consistent poor returns for the past three years.

McBeath said Rockit is working with several growers to review their operations, which involves grafting over all or part of their orchard, or transferring plantings to another grower.

“We are tightening our quality parameters into the 2026 harvest, and some growers may struggle to adapt their orchard to the changes.

“So some growers are retaining blocks where they know they can grow great fruit and grafting some blocks across where they know they’ll struggle.”

In response to concerns about handling a surge in apple volume, McBeath said Rockit has launched new product categories, and is working to stimulate demand in key markets.

But he said Rockit’s recovery will likely take longer than initially expected, with a three-year plan in place to increase profit per hectare and improve supply chain efficiency.

The likely payout range for growers for the 2025 season is 60c-$1.00 per tube.

For the 2026 season Rockit is forecasting $1.30 a tube. Break-even for most growers is $1.10 a tube.

High volume growth predictions were confirmed by McBeath. The current 60,000-bin harvest is anticipated to double by 2029, with the past high rate of growth expected to moderate over the next few seasons to about 20% a year.

Volume increases and variable fruit quality have also been impacted by broader economic challenges that McBeath said are affecting multiple premium fruit varieties, including the likes of other apple varieties, durian fruit and cherries.

Meantime he cited a 42% increase year on year for sell-through volume as an encouraging sign of momentum.

Growers producing smaller-diameter Rockit apples have been most affected by payment downgrades in recent years and those grafting onto older, low-density tree populations have been hit hardest.

“We are working closely with those growers to provide support with internal and external subject experts, consultants, agronomists, and horticultural scientists to improve on orchard efficiency and optimise fruit sizing.”

He said it is an orchard-layout issue, not a regional issue that is causing the problems.

When it comes to helping Rockit growers move back into profitable production, McBeath said a higher orchard gate return is the company’s priority.

“What we’ve shared with our growers is that the name of the game is getting demand ahead of supply.

“We will achieve this with a three-pronged strategy: deliver the season, improve our supply chain, and simplify our business.

“Our recovery plan is all about laying stronger foundations for long-term success by shifting our focus from quantity to quality. Tightening quality control, refining our supply strategy, SKU rationalisation, and growing new channels.

“We are committed to regularly updating our growers on progress.”