Sizes for kiwifruit coming from New Zealand have skewed larger this season. Good weather during the growing season is thought to be one of the reasons for bigger fruit.
“We got more size 25 and 27 fruit last year,” noted Nina Yeh with T Fresh Company, which mostly imports the Sungold kiwifruit variety from New Zealand. “But, this year, we're seeing more 22s and 25s.” That's good for T Fresh, she explained, because the Asian segment the company caters to in the U.S. typically prefers the larger fruit.
“Asian people already prefer gold kiwifruit over green Haywards,” she noted, “and, in the Asian segment of the market, consumers prefer larger sizes. So it's easier to sell larger fruit.” The company's target population also appreciates the sweet taste of the gold variety, and buyers have been seeing both sweeter and larger fruit with the introduction of the Sungold variety a few years ago.
Prices have been on the low side, noted Yeh, because of how competitive the market is. She's seen prices hover around $14.99 per box of gold kiwifruit 22s, which provides slim margins for those who handle the fruit. Pricing on Haywards coming from Chile have been similar, with per container prices for Hayward 23s ranging from $12.00 to $16.00 at Los Angeles ports of entry.
Overall demand for kiwifruit has been growing over the past decade, for both gold and green fruit.
“Everyone knows about kiwifruit now,” said Yeh. “Due to all the efforts to promote it, you see a lot more people buy kiwis.”
For more information:
Nina Yeh
T Fresh Company / Yes Produce
+1 626 968 2088