French kiwifruit grower-shippers anticipate a profitable kiwifruit season this year, thanks to an early end to the Southern Hemisphere crop, excellent quality French fruit and a favourable euro-dollar exchange rate.
Exporters expect to get off to a very strong start once their fruit is mature enough for harvest in early November because global markets will be clamouring for kiwifruit.
Chilean kiwifruit yields were severely cut by frost this year, and New Zealand volumes were down, meaning stocks will have long cleared by the time French product comes on stream.
Meanwhile, rain has limited Italian volumes, which are only expected to be marginally bigger than last year, when frosts cut crops, shippers said.
French volumes, on the other hand, are expected to return to normal levels – in the region of 70,000 tonnes. And, crucially, fruit quality is predicted to be excellent, thanks to perfect growing conditions into October.
“This season could be even better than last season, which was our best in 10 years, thanks to the more favourable euro-dollar exchange rate – providing we don’t have weather problems,” Marc Peyres of French grower-shipper Blue Whale told Eurofruit.
“We are going to focus on the eating quality of our fruit in promotions across Asia and in France.”
