Dr Grau, who was hosted by the Hazelnut Growers' Association of New Zealand and the New Zealand Tree Crops Association, recently visited Clive and Jen Blunden's orchard near Maheno and Dr Tim Medlicott's orchard near Mosgiel, as well as attending other meetings in Otago and Southland.
He has been involved with the development of the Chilean industry for more than 10 years.
New Zealand's hazelnut industry was at a critical point in its development with a lot of maturing orchards. Production levels now required the industry to either grow the size of the top end of the local market, or improve orchard efficiency to enable growers to profitably supply the larger processing markets, Hazelnut Growers' Association of New Zealand chairman Murray Redpath said.
Dr Grau's visit was a valuable opportunity for New Zealand growers to examine and learn from an industry that had progressed far faster than the New Zealand industry, and to share information on problems that affected both industries, he said.