Between May and October, the US sources kiwifruit from Chile and New Zealand. Starting next month, California supplies will hit the market and additional supplies will come from Italy and some smaller kiwi growing regions such as Greece. “We are looking forward to bringing in increased SunGold volumes from Italy this season as our new plantings develop,” says Glen Arrowsmith with Zespri. “However, SunGold volumes from Italy are still very small relative to New Zealand supplies that were so well received by US consumers this year.”
Tighter supplies
While demand is going up, global kiwifruit production is down this year due to weather events around the globe. “New Zealand was down this season following a difficult growing season with a warmer winter and a lot of rain,” said Arrowsmith. Reports show that Chilean production was down as well. “As supply moves to Italy there is an impact from severe frosts in some regions and dry summer conditions,” he added. “As a result, supply is expected to be much tighter than usual while kiwifruit demand continues with strong growth.”
SunGold drives growth
“Overall, demand for kiwifruit has been fantastic this year,” mentioned Arrowsmith. The fruit variety is on trend and gaining consumer demand. Increasingly, consumers are enjoying SunGold Kiwifruit. “They embrace the green and gold varieties equally. However, most of Zespri’s growth comes from the SunGold variety,” added Arrowsmith. “Category data shows that kiwifruit sales are outpacing total fruit sales with the growth of the category being attributed to SunGold.”
Visit Zespri at booth #901 at PMA Fresh Summit.
For more information:
Glen Arrowsmith
Zespri North America