Zespri’s motto is: ‘quality comes from the field’. Therefore, to celebrate the start of the harvesting, the New Zealand company took us on an amazing journey through the kiwifruit fields of the Agro Pontino land.
Marino Silva explained to FreshPlaza, “Zespri is the global market leader with the 30% of the market shares, which is equal to a revenue of 1.6 billion of euros.
Silva is the Mediterranean region market manager. The multinational corporation has 2.500 farmers in the New Zealand islands. In the ’97, these same farmers decided to launch the brand to set up a marketing strategy covering the entire year. Silva continues, “That is why it is crucial to collaborate with the Italian producers, who have to “cover the counter season”: from May to November we sell the ‘other world’ produce”. We sell our own product from November to April”.
Both the size and the prices are good. A very successful campaign is expected for the yellow pulp kiwi. On the other hand, the green kiwi campaign will still be affected by the 2017 frosts and by the cold weather of the last season.
Zespri increased its production of the 30%: the Italian Sun Gold amounted to 30.000 tons. Thus, 2.600 hectares were the 70% more productive. But the production will increase again in 2019. Also, 120 hectares are only for organic cultivation. “This is another step to reach our objective of 50.000 tons within 3 years. That is, the 40% of our revenue from this variety – which has been launched in Italy for 4 years.
The supply chain manager Dario Vegetti stated, “The Sun Gold kiwi is an exclusive variety – more refreshing and sweeter. The plant is obtained only through natural no GMO hybrids, thanks to the support from the New Zealand Plant and Food Research”. The 30% of the 370.000 tons of green kiwi produced in Italy carries the Zespri brand. Italy is the biggest kiwifruit global producer, even though the consumers and some Gdos still regard it as an exotic fruit.
Vegetti pointed out that the kiwifruit from New Zealand takes 28 days to get to Italy, “Through processing and controlling procedures, we carefully select our product. The high quality is a must to compete in markets so far away”. The export amounts to the 80% of the production. This is still an ‘uncharted’ market, considering that the average kiwi consumption in Italy is of 1 kg per year whereas the average apple consumption is 40 kg per year. Internationally, Germany consumes 2 kg of kiwi on average, while the United States only 300 g. Our Sun Gold is especially rich in vitamin C and in folic acid. Plus, it has only 79 kcal per hectogram and a low glycemic impact. But mostly, it is the only kiwifruit that contains actinidine, thus facilitating the digestion of proteins.
Riccardo Spinelli
Riccardo Spinelli explained to FreshPlaza, “It is necessary to have high standards in order to offer the best quality to our consumers”. Spinelli is the tech transfer and development manager for Zespri. He is one of the campaign technicians that support companies to bridge the gap between the scientific research and the farmer. "Only 5% of the final product does not get the Zespri brand. We are able to achieve these results thanks to a number of factors: a very draining soil, subacid, with a high presence of an organic substance, no risk of any frosts. Additionally, a major factor is the great professionalism of the agricultural network, thanks to which the first kiwi plants were possible, half a century ago".
Twelve years ago, Zespri connected the 2.500 New Zealand farmers with 600 Italian colleagues. The sharing of thoughts and ideas is one of the key aspects that characterize this global relationship. The Zespri system involves the complete control of the supply chain, from the field to the marketing. All of these thanks to the supervision of 35 campaign technician and to very careful quality checks. The Zespri kiwis have to achieve a standard of dry matter, of sugar level and of size. Silva took care to explain, “We want that each of our products gives the same experience”.
The size depends on the market demands and on the thinning process. That is, the fruits that are left ripening on the plant and the male/female plants ratio. The quality of our work is certified GlobalGAP (Good Agricultural Practices) and GRASP (which focuses on the evaluation of basic parameters and of potential risks). Furthermore, Zespri has even stricter rules than the Lazio region government in order to avoid any phytochemical residuals. Spinelli continues, “The real impact is very low. We can reach our objective of ‘zero residuals’ thanks to the adoption of mechanical barriers to repel the Asian bug and of traps for fruit flies”. Fabio Marocchi works for Apofruit Cesena, a company that involves 450 farmers, 80 of which are growing the Sun Gold. He claimed, “These are all possible thanks to an intensive training, starting from the cooperative to the producer so to utilize the products meant for organic farming”. This crop necessitates an investment of 16-18.000 euros per hectare, thus granting a GSP of 40.000 euros.
One of Zespri’s main characteristic is the sustainable management of the orchards: for instance, the recycling and 100% trackable packaging. Vegetti adds, “We want to avoid the counterfeiting of the product which high performing standards are globally renowned. On the last 3rd of October, the journey crossed two of the many New Zealand company: the Tenta Anna di Campoleone, 50 hectares with a ratio of 1 to 4 between Sun Gold and Green. Here, the reporter touched upon the mystification that kiwifruit needs a lot of water. Marocchi proudly showed the drip irrigation system and the tensiometers that allow ‘measuring’ the precise water needs of the plans. In doing so, the company cut the 50% of the total water they use, only in a few years.
All the participants could experience the thrill of hand-picking the fruit!
The final stage was at the Mirasole Estate di Doganella di Cori, where the harvesting has already started. Zespri’s regulations are really strict, especially regarding the absolute integrity of the fruits, as any occasional imperfection could damage part of the harvest.