Pea exporters are digesting this year’s record harvest

Press, 10 July 1987, Page 19

Pea exporters are digesting this year’s record harvest

Exporters will be wanting this year’s sowings of blue peas to be steady on those of last year, without a further large increase in the area planted, according to a senior industry manager. Mr Barrie Gleeson, the export manager for Wrightson Grain and Seed, who was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, took a look recently at prospects for the next pea harvest on the eve of his annual visit to the United States. Although it was still early for predictions, Mr Gleeson said that all this year’s record harvest of blue peas should be shipped before the next harvest despite the introduction of a 25 per cent import duty by India, the

biggest market.

New Zealand blues had begun moving to India again, he said, but the importers would not absorb the full cost of the duty increase. “We are not getting the prices paid before the duty was imposed, especially with the continued high value of the New Zealand dollar, but we have found some middle with the importers,” said Mr Gleeson.

Mr Gleeson likes to visit the United States for the beginning of its green pea harvest, where this year some 5 per cent reduction in sowings and moisture stress could reduce the total crop and a 50,000 tonne carryover from last year.

As the United States is the world’s major pea exporter, this could be good news for New Zealand. All local merchants have sold their 1987 exports of marrowfat peas, he reported, and could be looking for increased sowings for next harvest provided the Japanese quota system allowed.

Across the Tasman, an anticipated harvest of one million tonnes of dun peas beginning in November brings some worries of low prices and aggressive competition on world markets for blue peas. But duns are lower quality and the Australians accept feed compounding prices.

Mr Gleeson attributed his Q.S.M. to the work of

Wrightson Grain and Seed in promoting high quality exports over many years. Although it was an award to Mr Gleeson, known as “Mr Pea” for New Zealand, he preferred to see it as a reflection of the work of his colleagues, company and clients.

Mr Gleeson first began finding overseas customers for New Zealand seeds 10 years ago, and now spends about four months out of the year maintaining these contacts and finding new ones.

He has since established firm markets in India, Indonesia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and South America.

Mr Gleeson was also instrumental in gaining a relatively new type of business for the company and for their farmer con-tract-growers, whereby northern hemisphere seed companies can grow their seed here in New Zealand during their off-season. During his travels, Mr Gleeson is always searching for new cultivars that are suitable for both growing here and then being exported to fulfilly, appropriate overseas market needs.

For example he assisted in establishing a new blue pea called Ganeesh (a Hindu word meaning health-giving) for which Wrightson Grain and Seed has become the first New

Zealand company to ever have sole rights granted. Apart from the quality of the product he has to sell overseas, Mr Gleeson puts his own success down to personal contact, “walking the ground” and forming close relationships with his customers. On a more personal note, Mr Gleeson organised the shipment of grain and wheat to Ethiopia on the vessel Ngahere for Operation Hope on behalf of Wrightsons.