The kiwifruit season is in full swing in Portugal. This fruit's sector has been experiencing rapid growth over the last decade, as the Portuguese production has been increasing hand in hand with a rapid expansion of the crop in the country's central and northern Atlantic coast. The acreage has doubled compared to 2012, and the number of hectares is 3.5 times greater than that of 2000, according to data from Faostat.
"Kiwi orchards in Portugal are distributed along the coast, from the border with Galicia to Pombal (about 170 km north of Lisbon). The kiwifruit area in the country amounts to about 3,500 hectares, and the national production in 2021/22 amounted to about 50,000 tons. We are currently in the middle of the marketing campaign and we will have fruit available until the beginning of July," said the Associação Portuguesa de Kiwicultores (APK).
"In Portugal, green kiwifruit is the most common, but the acreage devoted to yellow kiwifruit has been expanding, and the same applies to red kiwifruit and kiwiberries. The harvesting seasons are similar to those of other kiwifruit producers in Europe: the green variety is harvested in November and its season is spread over 8 months. Kiwiberries are harvested in August, the red varieties in September and the yellow varieties in October."
"In general, the national production is divided between the domestic market and exports. In the case of green varieties, the main market is Spain, which absorbs around 80% of all exports," said APK.
Portugal is among the largest kiwifruit producers in Europe. The 2020 harvest data placed the country in fourth position, only behind Italy, Greece and France, and it has been closing the gap on the latter in recent years. "Indeed, Portugal's acreage and production volume comes very close to that of France and we expect to surpass it in the future, as investment in the sector continues."
Kiwis from Portugal
The Associação Portuguesa de Kiwicultores has been a meeting point for all professionals in the sector since its foundation in 2004. APK, which currently has around 200 associates, including 5 marketing organizations, has carried out important work in facilitating the sector's development and in training and advising producers, as well as in the promotion of Portuguese kiwifruit, managing to position the fruit in the markets through the "Kiwis de Portugal" brand.
"This brand was created to give visibility to the green kiwifruit produced in our country. Thanks to Portugal's location, the kiwifruit orchards are exposed to the Atlantic breeze during their growth, which allows us to obtain high quality fruit with high organoleptic qualities," said APK. "The Kiwis from Portugal are marketed by the companies in the consortium which are members of APK: Kiwicoop, Kiwi Greensun, Kiwilife, Prosa and Cooperativa de Felgueiras."
"APK works in partnership with all of them to promote Portuguese kiwifruit nationally and internationally. We will be present at Fruit Logistica, at the Portugal Fresh stand in Hall 5.2/D-3."
For more information:
Associação Portuguesa de Kiwicultores
Rua S Paulo da Cruz, 12
4520-249 Sª Mª Feira, Portugal
Tel.: +351 256 336 244
[email protected]
www.apk.com.pt