"The seasonal fruits of the northern hemisphere continue to have a leading role in the different destinations, significantly affecting the sales of Chilean fruit. In addition, New Zealand has a very high stock, which has been difficult to move. As a result, the volumes exported from Chile have decreased while we wait for market conditions to improve," stated the Kiwi Committee of Chile in its latest Crop Report.
According to the Committee, given the high stocks, sales of the southern hemisphere have been slower than usual, as they have been lower than in the same period of last year's campaign.
The larger supply is also affecting prices, as the green kiwis' market value is lower than expected. "New Zealand has pushed to keep prices high for yellow kiwis. Prices during the last fortnight have been on average 30% lower than in 2017," the report highlights.
During the last fortnight, the country shipped out 11,843 tons of kiwi, 30% more than in the previous fortnight. By Week 29 the country had shipped 138,772 tons. Hayward presents a decrease of 4% over 2017, while the other varieties, led by Jintao, show a 29% increase.
The main importing countries of the last two weeks were the US and India, which accounted for 20% and 10% of exports, respectively.
India: An alternative market with great potential for Chilean kiwis
The importance of India as one of the alternative destinations for Chilean kiwi has been ratified during this campaign. India has a great growth potential, and producers have sought to distribute the Chilean offer in this market by different means, including a creative and unique promotional campaign of the Chilean kiwi in the Indian market, which has been conducted in this market for the first time ever. This has helped producers move around 10,000 tons of this fruit.
Forecast and destination markets
European production for the 2018-2019 season is expected to be slightly lower than in a normal year. The flowering started 10 to 15 days later than usual so, according to projections, there will be a delay in the crops. Since Europe has many producers and Greece is expected to produce less fruit, only in the new orchards that are entering production, the volume is expected to be somewhat similar to that of the previous season.
Spain and Portugal's production is expected to increase by 8%, but their impact on Europe's production is not too big, as they only account for a small percentage of all of its production. In France, despite the hails in some areas, production should be normal.
Meanwhile, Italy, which is the largest producer of kiwis in Europe, and which has many different productive areas, is expected to produce a volume similar or lower than its historical average.
Destinations
This season's main destinations for Chilean exports have been Europe with a 36% share and the Far East with 23%. Both markets have shown growth compared to the previous season.
In contrast, in the Far East, the main importers of 2017, i.e. China, South Korea and Japan, have decreased their participation. In this region, only India shows significant growth with 9,736 tons, practically tripling the amount exported by the same date of 2017 (3,900 tons), which has made it possible to compensate for the decline at the regional level.
Source: SimFRUIT according to the Kiwi Committee's Crop Report