This is the first year that Viva Tierra Organic will begin importing kiwfruit from Italy. While they brought in limited quantities of fruit last season, this is the first year of their new commercial kiwi import program.
“We did a few trial shipments last year, about four containers, but this fall is the first time we've had the full program going,” explained Addie Pobst of Viva Tierra. They're currently importing about a container of fruit every week from a group of growers in Italy. The certified organic kiwis are sold in three-kilogram trays and seven-kilogram trays for gold variety, and the green variety is packed in a nine-kilogram bulk box and a one-pound bag for retail. Shipments are expected to continue through January.
“Shipments will taper off over the next few weeks to where we'll have a container every other week,” said Pobst. “It's the first kiwi deal we've been involved with, but it's been received well so far. It's a learning experience so we'll be tweaking the program in future years to match consumer expectations.”
For more information:
Addie Pobst
Viva Tierra Organic
+1 360 855 3195