Kiwi Produce owner Geoff Oliver says the niche market is slowly building around the world.
“The market is growing slowly,” he says. “It is a niche market. Exports to China Asia and Australia are increasing each year.”
The Kiwiberry is related to the kiwifruit, but typically much smaller – ranging from 5 to 20 grams – with smooth, hairless edible skin.
The majority of Kiwiberries are grown in New Zealand, with the biggest growing area based in the Bay of Plenty on the North Island, where Kiwi Produce is based. There are approximately 22 hectares currently in production across the country.
Mr Oliver – who is also the Chairman of NZ KiwiBerry Growers Inc – has over 11 years experience with the berry and says production will grow over the next few years.
“There has been a large increase in plantings, so we expect production volumes to increase three-fold over the next three to four years.”
The current Kiwiberry season is set to kick off at the end of February, with Mr Oliver saying wetter than usual weather at the start of the year has led to new vine growth for the existing crops.
“The extra rain has caused more vine growth so the canopies are more dense and the fruit size is up on last year. Our monitoring is showing that the fruit brixes are the same this year-to-date but the development of black seed in the fruit is approximately a week behind,” he says.
“Fruit size is up and fruit quality looks excellent.”
Kiwiberry harvesting is done by hand and yields can be up to 20 tonnes per hectare.
The harvest season runs from late February through til mid-April, and approximately 70-80% of fruit is packed and exported to international markets in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, the US and parts of Europe, with the remainder going to domestic markets in New Zealand.
For more information:
Geoff Oliver
Kiwi Produce
Tel: +64 7 533 1390
Email: geoff@kiwiproduce.co.nz
www.kiwiproduce.co.nz
www.nzkiwiberry.com