Leading New Zealand exporter First Fresh is looking to create new market openings for a number of its citrus lines in Asia.
While New Zealand remains a relatively boutique citrus producer, First Fresh’s export programmes are growing steadily, with sales programmes largely built around navel oranges and more niche offerings such as Meyer and Yen Ben lemons.
With production volumes of New Zealand limes on the rise, First Fresh’s managing director, Ian Albers, believes they too could be added to the export mix.
Due to the country’s cooler climate and the autumnal harvest season (March to August), New Zealand limes tend to go a lighter shade of green than those grown in other production hubs such as Mexico. The New Zealand fruit also tends to be slightly smaller in size.
Albers says this creates a few marketing challenges, with First Fresh again looking to position its offering in unique ways.
“Rest assured that while they lack the greenness and size of a Mexican lime, they more than hold their own in terms of flavour and juice content,” Albers told Asiafruit. “We have carved a small niche for ourselves in Japan in recent years but want to take New Zealand limes further into Asia.”
Apart from limes, First Fresh also hopes to test the waters with New Zealand-grown Gold Nugget mandarins in Asia this season.
“There are currently limited plantings (of Gold Nugget) in Gisborne and we are still learning a lot about how they will perform in a New Zealand climate,” Albers said. “However, they do have great flavour and the timing of the harvest around September could be appealing for some markets.”
First Fresh has also announced it will launch the Sprisio brand for citrus in China this season, in conjunction with Foodview. The programme will include navel oranges and Yen Ben lemons.
