The 2021 New Zealand kiwifruit crop is tracking well according to Zespri as it prepares to introduce Zespri Red to China for the first time.
Will Brockbank, general manager marketing of Zespri, said the first Zespri Red and SunGold kiwifruit of the season were picked in late-February and good pollination and sufficient rainfall following pollination had helped with sizing and early development.
“It’s looking like another great crop this season, with more Zespri SunGold kiwifruit than Green available for our consumers,” said Brockbank.
“Zespri has committed to releasing additional SunGold hectares in New Zealand out to 2022, with current demand forecasts supporting releases of up to 700ha of conventional SunGold and 50ha of Organic SunGold kiwifruit per year in New Zealand to meet growing demand. These releases are reviewed annually.”
Brockbank said Zespri continued to see strong demand for its fruit across all of its major markets such as Greater China, Japan and Europe. This included a growing interest in Zespri Red, which Zespri expects to supply from its trial orchards in similar volumes to last season while it continues to build commercial volumes.
“We’ve continued to receive positive feedback about Zespri Red and there’s a lot of excitement about it among consumers,” said Brockbank.
“This season we’ll once again be sharing this variety with consumers in New Zealand, Japan and Singapore and for the first time, Zespri Red will be sold in China.”
For the full interview with Zespri’s Will Brockbank with more details about how the marketer has adapted to Covid-19, make sure to subscribe to Asiafruit Magazine to read the upcoming March edition.
