New Zealand-based kiwifruit marketer Zespri has again emphasised the strength of its European performance this season, despite an overall decline in demand for summer fruit and a drop in fresh produce turnover.
Jean-Louis Warnimont, marketing manager at Zespri Europe, told Fruitnet.com that overall sales figures had been 'encouraging' in this year's tough global market, and reflected the early start to the season and high quality of fruit that had been produced.
Earlier in the week, an industry source told Fruitnet.com that the situation in Europe was proving 'tense' for Zespri, and that sales were 'not good'.
'It is clear that Zespri's forecast of 1m trays sold by the end of July can only be because the group is doing well in markets other than in Europe, especially those in Asia,' the source said.
However, Mr Warnimont refuted these claims, saying: 'No, this is not the case. Zespri has achieved solid sales volumes in Europe; we have maintained the volumes of Zespri Green and have seen continued growth in Zespri Gold. For the latter, we have noticed that there is a strong, growing consumer demand that is driving sales.'
Looking to the short-term future of the European market amid ongoing economic uncertainty, Mr Warnimont said that quality remained the key factor in ensuring increased sales.
'We strongly believe that it is important that the fruit producer, trade and consumers understand that having a consistent, superior quality, instead of pushing the volume at a cheap price, is the best weapon in developing the fruit market,' he added.