Italian kiwi’s outlooks are improving, showing a quantitative recovery compared to last year. The 2017 campaign was particularly negative. However, according to the Allenaza delle Cooperative Agrolimetari (Alliance of the Agri-food Cooperatives), this year has registered an 18% increase in the production – especially supported by the yellow pulp kiwi variety and by the growing peaks experienced in the Lazio and Veneto regions.
The total production will be of 435.000 tons, which is below the Italian productive average: -11% compared to the years 2013-2017. The crops have been heavily affected by phytosanitary problems such as bacteriosis, the deaths and the Asian bug. Also, the climate has been bad as well in the last months.
The productive improvement should also bring results regarding the marketing: there was a decrease in the exports last year. However, the outlook for the coming campaign is expected to be positive due to the increase in volumes. The Alleanza Cooperative Agroalimentari agri-food coordinator Davide Vernocchi explains, “We are paying a lot of attention to the strong increase in kiwi imports from Greece. In Italy only, there has been an increase of 39% in the last four years: from the 1.780 tons of 2013 to 26.468 tons of 2017”.
Vernocci continues, “We should keep working on the qualification of the Italian offer and on opening new channels to foreign markets like Japan. This is a challenge that we must take to promote a product of which Italy is the first European producer and second global producer, behind China.