A group of Chilean kiwifruit exporters have come together in order to exclusively produce and export the Summerkiwi variety for the Korean market.
The deal, signed on 11 March, unites nine Chilean exporters with Italian licenser Summerfruit and New Zealand firm Enza, which will represent the group in Asia and Australasia, according to a report by Portal Frutícola.
The Chilean exporters involved in the initiative – Subsole, Copefrut, David del Curto, Frusan, Alsu, Lafrut, Sofruileg, Trinidad and Unifrutti – already produce Summerkiwi for export and each have approximately 75ha of planted area.
The planting of Summerkiwi in Chile began in 2007 when seven companies joined together to produce the variety. The first commercial exports of major volume were shipped last year.
Currently there are 350ha planted with Summerkiwi in Chile – a figure which is predicted to increase to 500ha in the near future.
