Many questions for the owners of a blueberry orchard in Hawke's Bay after around 700 bushes were stripped by thieves.

Hastings-based Bay Blueberries —hard hit by Cyclone Gabrielle in February— has had hundreds of kilograms of berries stolen from its premises on Railway Road South.

It's believed to have happened in the middle of the night between January 1st and 4th.

Owner Marian Hirst told Tim Dower that the berries they picked are a mix of ripe and unripe meaning they'll be ghastly to eat.

She says they've all lost, from their pickers through to their foreman because they were all ready to pick and work.

Hirst says the ripple through the business has been considerable.

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