The northern hemisphere kiwi season is in full swing and the first vessels with Hayward kiwis from Greece have arrived in Philadelphia and New York. From now on, weekly arrivals can be expected. "Greece is the dominant supplier to the U.S. during the first part of the northern hemisphere season," says Andres Haloua, Director Produce Sourcing at World Fresh Produce. In the past four to five years, the country has significantly expanded their kiwi acreage and production continues to grow. Just this year, a 10-15 percent increase in production volume is expected over last year.
Recently, World Fresh USA visited Italian kiwifruit grower Origin Group in Bologna.
Italy
While Italy had always been the leading green kiwi grower in Europe, Greece stepped up when many of Italy's kiwi orchards were impacted by a root disease, resulting in the loss of a significant share of Italy's production several years ago. Italy's weakened position provided Greece an opportunity to grow their kiwi industry. One of Greece's benefits is the lower cost of labor, which allows them to offer kiwis at a lower price, making them the supplier of choice.
However, cold storage capabilities aren't as developed in Greece and the fruit doesn't always have the same shelf-life that kiwifruit from Italy has. For that reason, a large percentage or Greece suppliers won't be shipping overseas after the end of January. At that time, things are likely to shift, and Italy may become the main U.S. supplier until the southern hemisphere starts up. Italy's kiwi volumes are expected to be similar compared to last season.
Growth of kiwi program
Exactly a year ago, World Fresh Produce was acquired by South Mill Champ, a North American grower and supplier of mushrooms. "In the past year, under Michel's leadership, the synergies between the two companies have allowed World Fresh Produce to add new items to their offering and strengthen their availability of existing items," says Haloua. World Fresh has also been able to benefit from South Mill's large distribution network and customer base in North America. "South Mill has a large U.S. customer base that they supply continuously," says Michel Matouk, founder of World Fresh Produce, and current VP Global Sourcing. "Adding our products to the mix has allowed us to become a one-stop shop for our retail customers while creating transportation efficiencies at the same time." In addition to kiwi fruit, World Fresh offers oranges, mandarins, lemons, limes, grapes, pears, carrots, garlic, and fresh herbs.
Matouk and Haloua are excited to start pushing Greek and Italian kiwis. As a result of South Mill's strategic locations, new markets have been reached, which has allowed World Fresh to double the kiwi volume they are bringing in from Europe. Both kiwi fruit and World Fresh's other commodities are distributed east of the Mississippi.
For more information:
Michel Matouk / Andres Haloua
World Fresh USA
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.worldfreshusa.com