Italian Kiwis - Lower Production but Higher Quality

January 25, 2018

Tim

While China is the world’s largest producer of kiwifruits, the country also imports big quantities of the fruit. Between January and November, 2017, China imported 8.1 tons of kiwis from New Zealand, 1.77 tons from Chile, 0.8 tons from Italy, 0.14 tons from Greece, and 0.12 tons from France. At this time, kiwis from the Southern Hemisphere are approaching the end of their season but sales of ones from the Northern Hemisphere are currently at their peak. With a bumper crop for Chinese kiwis this season, all major e-commerce platforms are said to be chalking up very good sales.

Kiwis are one of Italy’s major export items. Favorable climates coupled with advanced technology for preserving the freshness of produce give rise to Italian kiwis’ very high quality. Mr. Alberto Garbuglia, COO of Origine Group in Italy recently talked to Produce Report on the sales performance of Italian kiwis for 2017. According to Mr. Garbuglia, it has been a year to remember for Sweeki, Origine’s brand of kiwis, which saw its production dropped by 30% compared with 2016. However, the quality of the 2017 season’s production has been good. As kiwis were heavily demanded in Europe, while Sweeki has been seeking to further strengthen its brand awareness in Spain, Origine could not but cut back on export volume.

Mr. Garbulgia added that kiwis from the Southern Hemisphere has a relatively short season of about 40-50 days, resulting in shortage of supply and pushing prices higher. This created more opportunities for Italian kiwis. He told Produce Report that the Chilean group David del Curto S.A. has become part of Origine Group since September. With this, Origine has the capability to supply the world with Sweeki kiwi throughout the 12 month of a year.

Mr. Garbulia concluded by saying. “when the Italian kiwis’ season ends by May every year, we would continue to supply the market with Chilean kiwis. South Asian countries, particularly China, are our important markets. Earlier, our first container of Hayward kiwis has made its voyage to Asia. Our export sales are made possible by our efforts to continuously improve our kiwis’ quality.”

The Origine Group of Italy was established in 2015, as nine leading European companies in production and marketing of fresh produce joined in a strategic alliance to provide high quality products. These companies are Afe，Apofruit，Fruit C2，Gran Frutta Zani，Kiwi Uno，Op Kiwi Sole，Pempa-Corer，Salvi-Unacoa，and Spreafico. The group’s total turnover has exceeded 900 million Euro. Its two brands, namely, Sweeki kiwifruits and PeraItalia pears have total production volume of more than twenty thousand tons a year. Origine was joined by David del Curto S.A. of Chile in September, 2017. The group continues to work on innovation, new varieties and new markets. As a key member of European Project “ Freshness from Europe” dedicating to promote the values of Italian fruit and vegetables in China, 2018 would witness the clear presence of Sweeki of The Origine Group to China market.