International kiwi agreement increases production in Southern Hemisphere

In the age of globalisation, a distance of more than 11,000 kilometres no longer represents an obstacle to launching collaboration between businesses operating in two different hemispheres. As a result of this philosophy, two global kiwi growers, Consorzio KiwiGold in Cesena and Patagonian Fruits in General Roca, Argentina, have entered into an agreement for the production of organic kiwifruit - gold Jintao variety - in the South American country.

"This product is seeing increasing success among consumers, who continue to show greater appreciation for this new actinidia variety and are increasingly interested in organic crops. Thanks to its abundant uncontaminated areas, Argentina presents particularly favourable pedoclimatic conditions for the cultivation of organic fruit and vegetables," the companies claimed.

Accordingly, Patagonian Fruits, already a grower of organic apples and pears in the Black River and Neuquén valleys, has identified optimum conditions for the cultivation of kiwi fruit in the province of Buenos Aires (Balcarce and Sierra de los Padres), both green (Hayward variety) and gold (Jintao).

The goal of the agreement is to ultimately produce organic gold kiwi fruit out of season, in the southern hemisphere. During the initial phase, 40 hectares will be planted, 15 of which have already been bedded and should supply the first crops in April 2018, to then cover, by 2018, an overall surface area of 100 hectares. The marketing of the product will be handled exclusively by Jingold.

“Production of organic kiwi fruit is limited, especially in the southern hemisphere – emphasises Alessandro Fornari, Jingold director. As a result of the partnership agreement reached for the production of organic Jingold kiwi fruit in Argentina, we will be able to offer the markets a new product which has generated great expectations in the customers, especially those in the USA”.

Cristina Fabbroni, Consorzio Kiwigold’s technical manager, says: “Our recent visits to the already operating Hayward’s plants have highlighted the great potential of the area. It features not only fertile soil, enriched by breeding throughout the years, but also natural basins for irrigation, which play a crucial role in obtaining high-quality fruit. Moreover, the area exploits cutting-edge technology as far as the planting of the first hectares is concerned, using automatic systems to monitor both irrigation and fertigation, and providing hail-protection covers to safeguard fruit”.

For more information:
Moreno Armuzzi
Jingold
piazzale Caduti del Lavoro, 200
47522 Cesena (FC)
Tel: +39 0547 317476
Fax: +39 0547 417514
info@jingold.it