New Zealand kiwifruit growers are set to export more gold kiwifruit to Australia this year, but shipments of the green variety are expected to stay static or fall.

While marketer Zespri has a single-desk monopoly for New Zealand's kiwifruit exports, the law allows for a free market system both domestically and in Australia. For shipments across the Tasman, growers are represented by the Kiwifruit Product Group (KPG).

In a release, KPG chairperson Tony Ponder said his country's kiwifruit production continued to rise, in line with worldwide demand which had lifted significantly in the last three years.

"Most of this lift in volume is around the new "Sungold" variety which is more tolerant to the deadly Psa bacteria which has affected the Hort16a Gold variety," Ponder said.

"This year, for the first time, the industry will commence a three-year marketing programme for New Zealand kiwifruit to help grow overall consumption of kiwifruit in Australia," he said, adding the campaign would start in July.

"This also signals a maturing of the industry to work collectively to grow the value of the Australian market for the long term."

The group said 285,000 cartons of gold kiwifruit was shipped to Australia last year, along with just over 1.35 million cartons of the green variety. In 2015, KPG expects the New Zealand dollar's strong performance against the Australian dollar will affect prices, but prices should remain consistent throughout the supply deal.

The gold variety fruit will be in the market by mid-May, while green kiwifruit should be in stores by early June.

Photo: Jarmoluk, via Pixabay

www.freshfruitportal.com