A new apple being grown in Central Otago, called Envy, is making growers overseas jealous.
The Braeburn-Royal Gala cross is a large, sweet red apple, with great potential as an export, Otago regional manager for Enza Ltd, Jeff McDonald said.
"It's very exciting for the industry," Mr McDonald said.
The new variety's main claim to fame is that after being bitten or cut, its flesh stays white for many hours longer than other apples before turning brown.
"The Envy apples last for up to 10 hours before they turn brown and that's a unique selling point," Mr McDonald said.
"There's nothing else like it around. It's a good keeper and we expect it to be very popular in Asia and in the United States.
"In Asia, they like to cut up their apples before they eat them, so we know that market will love them."
The apple is being grown in Central Otago, Hawkes Bay and Nelson and the first exports are being packed now, he said.
Central Otago has three growers - in Ettrick, Roxburgh and Alexandra.
"We only trialled 200 of the trees in this region, but that number will increase dramatically in the next few years as we try to meet the demand that will be generated," Mr McDonald said.
Between 3000 and 4000 cartons of Envy will be sent to Asia and the United States this season.
Jazz apples were the new "market champion" with more than one million cartons expected to be exported this year.
About 80,000 Jazz trees were grown in Otago, he said.
"It'll take probably five years to get to that volume of fruit [with Envy] but we think Envy will be as big a success, if not bigger, than Jazz."
Jazz was grown, under licence, in the United States, the United Kingdom and in Australia and that guaranteed year-round supply of the apple in supermarkets.
"That's the holy grail, if you can get year-round supply."
Meanwhile, New Zealand consumers will have to wait a little longer before they can taste an Envy apple.
It will probably be two or three years before it is released on the local market.
