Company estimates unauthorised production in China is now almost 9,000ha, generating 40mn trays per year
Kiwifruit company Zespri has warned that rogue production of its licensed SunGold variety is growing in China.
As reported by the NZ Herald, the group believes “unauthorised plantings” of the variety in China now stand at 40mn trays, of which 20mn are equal to its premium standard in terms of quality.
According to its estimates, Zespri believes there are 8,387ha of illegal SunGold plantings in the country.
“Though we consider that the rate of planting has slowed, with less successful local growers switching to other varieties or land uses, overall production is increasing, as more of the plantings reach maturity,” it said in a statement.
“While it continues to be challenging to identify where all the UAG3 [unauthorised G3] is going, including in which cities and channels it is being sold, where possible Zespri continues to collect intelligence on sales of UAG3.
“Some UAG3 is being sold under competitor brands for 60-70 per cent of the price of Zespri Gold3 [SunGold brand], some through e-commerce platforms, some with counterfeit Zespri packaging and/or blending with genuine Zespri product – the most lucrative – and some is exported to other markets in Asia.”
