Single-desk kiwifruit marketer Zespri has celebrated its re-entry into the Saudi Arabian market with a launch event at the New Zealand Embassy in Riyadh.
Dignitaries included New Zealand ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamish MacMaster and deputy chief of Mission Greg Lewis.
The celebration preceded the first shipment of the Gold3 (marketed as SunGold) kiwifruit to the Kingdom, which is expected to arrive within the next week.
“We are honoured to host the launch of a new product from Zespri, one of New Zealand’s most well-known and well-loved companies,” MacMaster told Arab News. “It’s a special privilege to help launch its golden kiwifruit in Saudi Arabia.”
Zespri kiwifruit will be distributed across Saudi Arabia for the first time in five years through a new partnership between the marketer and Mohammed Abdallah Sharbatly, which has 10 branches across the Kingdom.
Earlier this year, Zespri’s Dubai-based market manager Ben Hughe announced the company was hoping to develop a 30 per cent share of the Saudi Arabian kiwifruit market by 2019.
