The birthplace of the kiwifruit, China looks set to ship its kiwis to the European Union. China’s kiwi industry is developing rapidly and it can offer a range of quality varieties, like Xu Xiang. In order to gain access to the European markets, China’s exporters will have to guarantee food safety and agricultural waste standards. This will require the country’s producers to update their practices to improve quality and meet the requirements of the European Union. Oh-La International is committed to supporting farmers during this adaptation process.

Origine Group General Manager, Alessandro Zampagna, participate in Chile in the opening of the new plant of David Del Curto. “We work together to increase production maintaining quality and service”

The harvest of Zespri Kiwifruit from Northern Hemisphere orchards is well underway, with total volumes expected to reach more than 19 million trays this season.

Zespri Chief International Production Officer Sheila McCann-Morrison says the increased volumes demonstrate the progress being made on Zespri’s global supply strategy of providing consumers with Zespri Kiwifruit for all twelve months of the year.

This year’s annual International Kiwifruit Organization (IKO) was held in Bordeaux (France) from 9 to 12 September. The IKO delegates agreed on the importance of traceability of product origin and published data on production estimates for the 2018/2019 season. Excluding the yellow-fleshed kiwi, in the Northern Hemisphere (excluding China), supply is expected to reach 732,000 tons, which is 6% higher than last year’s poor harvest, but 3% below the 2014-2017 average.

This year’s Californian kiwi crop is developing well. With the main season expected to get underway in the first week of October, some gold varieties could make it onto the market by mid-September. The high summer temperatures recorded this year do not appear to have harmed the development of this year’s crop. As gold kiwi is more sensitive to high temperatures or humidity, these varieties are often placed under shades. Despite being slightly late this campaign, the fruit should be of a very good size.

According to the latest figures from the Italian Fresh Produce Service Centre (CSO), Italy’s kiwifruit production for 2017/18 is estimated at approximately 370,000 tons, 22% lower than the previous (abundant) campaign, mostly due to severe frosts in April.  Approximately 73% of Italy’s kiwifruit production is exported, 20% is consumed domestically, and 7% goes to industry.

With supplies high and sales slow of Chile’s kiwi, the South American country’s producers have identified India as a potential destination for its products. "The seasonal fruits of the Northern Hemisphere lead in many markets and this significantly affects the sales of Chilean fruit, and that’s before we mention New Zealand’s fruit. That is why the volumes exported from Chile have decreased while waiting for market conditions to improve," said the Kiwi Committee of Chile in its latest Crop Report.

Chile has its sights on the lucrative Indian fresh fruit market and has launched a new campaign to promote its kiwifruit in the subcontinent. Chile is the world’s third largest exporter of kiwifruit, with exports in 2017 reaching US$188 million. Last year, thanks to the preferential trade agreement (PTA) Chile signed with India in 2017, the South American country enjoys a 50% advantage in tariffs over other countries that export this exotic fruit to India.

In the latest statistics published by New Zealand’s Government Statistics office, it has emerged that gold varieties of kiwi are increasingly replacing green. There have also been increases in production of apples and avocados. The overall planted area for kiwifruit increased to 11,700 hectares in 2017, a 7% increase from 2014. While the total canopy area of kiwifruit increased, the area of green kiwifruit fell 4% over the same period. The reason for the change is the increase in demand for gold varieties. Indeed, the ratio of green to gold kiwifruit has steadily changed over the period.