The kiwi market in France is rather positive. “The offer is regular, and the quality of the fruits is satisfactory,” says Pascale Begoulle of the company Sikig. The campaign of the French kiwi will last until May. “At the moment, we are all at about 50% of our volumes.”
Greek competition
Sikig exports green kiwis in Europe and Asia. “We are doing good on the European market, as usual, but exporting to Asia is getting more difficult, because of the strong competition from Italy, and especially from Greece. The Greeks weigh heavily with very low prices. It’s always complicated, but I think that the situation will improve in the second half of the season, which will start soon.”
Inverted calibers
Pascale explains that this year is special because the kiwis cultivated in the Garonne valley are of a slightly higher caliber than the ones grown in the Adour valley. “It is usually the other way around. This year, the weather reversed the situation. We had floods in the Adour, and a drought in the Garonne. We also had a bit of frost. All those different factors mean that we have an inverted caliber in general, but the difference is not very big. They are only one caliber apart.”
Yellow kiwis from France
Sikig also produces yellow kiwis. They are marketed through Zespri. “The season has been good with delicious products. A lot of the volumes from this production were sold in France. French consumers often want yellow kiwis from France, and Zespri tries to meet their expectations. Another part of our production was exported, to Vietnam especially. Zespri ended the sales 2 to 3 weeks ago, and all the volumes left are at wholesalers, which is normal for this period. In the future, Zespri will try to offer the Zespri gold kiwis over a longer period, with an ultimate goal of 12 months out of 12.”
Sikig is developing several quality labels, such as the PGI and the red and organic labels. “Some of our converted organic orchards are bringing in some volumes at the moment. We try to offer organic kiwis to our clients by importing as well, from Italy for example. As for the PGI, we are supported by the EU to develop the Adour Kiwi PGI.”
Christelle Broutin of Sikig presented the different products of the company at Fruit Logistica
For more information: 
Pascale Begoulle
Sikig
Phone: + 33 (0)5 58 73 22 34
Mobile: + 33 (0)6 82 68 43 50
pbegoulle@kiwi-france.com
www.kiwi-france.com