California's kiwifruit growers are gearing up for a harvest that looks set to be a similar size to last year, with new varieties and packaging options expected to hit the market. 

California Kiwifruit Commission representative Nick Matteis said initial production estimates were pegged at around 6.5-6.8 millon 7-pound-tray-equivalents.

"Compared to last year we estimated about the same at the beginning of the season then we finished with about 7.4 million tray equivalents, so it has the potential to be about the same crop, depending on packable fruit," he told www.freshfruitportal.com.

The state's total production is likely to increase in the near future, with Matteis estimating around 600-800 new acres of kiwifruit orchards had been planted over the last year.

Despite much of the Sunshine state being under serious drought conditions, Matteis said no growers had reported any sizing issues and fruit quality was looking good.

Most growers typically start harvest during the first two weeks of October, and fruit can be held in storage and marketed until roughly April next year.

Matteis also mentioned the domestic market appeared 'healthy', although some Chilean fruit still needed to work its way through the channels.

Around 75-80% of production will be sold within the U.S., with Mexico and Canada being the main export markets. Small volumes will also be shipped to South East Asia, Matteis said.

The 2015-16 season is also set to see the first locally grown gold varieties go to market.

"We had some growers that started their gold plantings about four years ago, so this is going to be the first year where we see some initial volumes," he said.

"I don’t know how much of it is going to be marketed, I would imagine quite a bit of it, but these are the first gold varieties since around 2005, when the last of the Hort16A gold fruit was marketed here. That didn’t perform very well in California."

He said the new gold varieties were from New Zealand-based Don Skeleton, and it would be exciting to see how they perform in the Californian climate.

"From a kiwifruit administrative committee standpoint we’re working out how to regulate those varieties within our marketing order," Matteis said.

"We have certain minimum size and standards that we’re working on."

He also said it was hard to ascertain how significant gold plantings may become in the near future, but at the moment it was looking promising.

"Gold kiwifruit is something that’s in demand in many markets, so that's clearly why these California growers are trying it out," Matteis said.

The industry is also increasing its focus on more diverse packaging options this year, according to the representative.

"There are pouches and clams and more customized weights and sizes for specific retailers - various programs that some of our marketers are putting together," he said.

"I think that will be something that’s really interesting to watch."

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