The avocado industry is suffering from brazen, large scale theft as orchard raiders cash in on the fruit's high price, but growers are fighting back.
Dave Flett sits on a police and rural stakeholders group and says avocado thefts started out small with a few people with bucks and bags stealing.
"But now it's grown out of proportion altogether. In a limited time they could walk away with a couple of thousand avocados quite easily," Mr Flett told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.
The programme was told a crate of avocados is worth $200 to $200.
David Stewart of The Fresh Market says he gets occasional phone calls asking if he wants to buy some avocados and he tells the caller, "No, thank you. Goodbye".
"The other days it's asparagus. The season's only a few weeks old and there's already stuff disappearing out of paddocks," he said.
"People need to lock things up now. You need cameras like we do in the shops here. Security is paramount now."
Sixteen years ago Dianne and her family put avocado trees in the ground and now, when she should be reaping the rewards, she's instead counting the cost.
"Five thousand dollars would be a modest call, each year, of stolen fruit," she said.
Gone are the days of leaving the gate open, and now any produce could be ripe for the picking by thieves.
"It started with avos. We were the first in the horticulture group. But generally it could be onions, it could be asparagus. It could be any fruit," Mr Flett said.
His message to growers is, "evidence is not a cut fence, but a photograph".
One orchardist had an inkling that there were thrifts going on, and 24 hours later he had some good photos of a pair of thieves at 10.30am on a Sunday.
Meanwhile a tower camera usually used in the construction industry is now being trailed at Dianne's property.
The camera can pick up a car registration number as the vehicle comes down the driveway, she said.
"I think it's taken well over 60 alerts."
The times are changing, with increasing thefts, but so is technology.
"I guess it's a message for anyone in the industry - if the product gets too expensive people will look for ways around it," Mr Flett said.
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