The Real Estate Institute says the recent sale of a gold kiwifruit orchard in Bay of Plenty signals a resurgence of buyer interest in an industry hard hit by Psa.
The institute's rural spokesperson, Brian Peacocke, says a Te Puke orchard sold for $170,000 a canopy hectare - the best price since Psa was first discovered in November 2010.
Before that, gold kiwifruit orchards were fetching up to $450,000 a hectare, he says
Mr Peacocke says kiwifruit orchard sales came to a standstill in 2010 and 2011.
But he says in the past six months there's been a small increase in the number of sales, and the price is also climbing.
Mr Peacocke says in recent times there's been a resurgence of interest both from orchardists and investors.
He says until now it's peaked at around $120,000 to $140,000 a hectare and this sale has given a spike. He points out that this orchard was a particularly good quality property.
Zespri expects to harvest about 90 million trays of kiwifruit this season, 20 million fewer than the previous season, mainly due to the effects of Psa.