Freshmax NZ recently secured the rights to commercialise four new proprietary kiwiberry varieties from Plant & Food Research’s breeding programme.
The New Zealand fresh produce marketer, which holds the exclusive master licence for Plant & Food kiwiberry varieties in the country, says that select growers have this month decided to plant the varieties on a commercial scale.
Freshmax NZ’s Tracey Burns told Asiafruit that there was a “good grafting programme” under way for the varieties that should see reasonable volumes come online in the next two years.
“They’re good varieties from a production perspective, and they have strong shelf life and storage qualities,” she noted.
Such attributes look set to be key to growing the export market for the grape-sized kiwiberry, which has sweet kiwifruit-like flesh and thin skin. Conveniently, the fruit does not need to be peeled and is eaten whole like a berry.
While kiwiberry production remains small in New Zealand, global demand has been rising steadily on the back of a sustained increase in market share for the berryfruit category, according to Freshmax NZ. And the company sees good opportunities for New Zealand growers to capitalise on this trend through investment in kiwiberry production.
“New Zealand-grown kiwiberry has access to an extensive range of international markets,” said Tony Mahoney, Freshmax Group CEO. “Our kiwiberry marketing strategy is focused on steadily and significantly building demand in New Zealand, Europe and Asia, demand which is not yet realised due to the lack of volume supply from New Zealand so far.”
Burns said Asian markets would be a key focus for Freshmax NZ’s marketing efforts, including Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan, while it would also look to build on the foothold it has established in Europe.
The kiwiberry is almost exclusively grown in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, where the Psa vine disease has caused extensive damage to plantations of the Hort16A gold kiwifruit variety. Although there are no guarantees that the kiwiberry is resistant to the disease, initial indications suggest the fruit is less susceptible than Hort16A, according to industry sources.
Peak production of the kiwiberry falls in February, with the supply season typically running for around five to six weeks.
