Chilean Kiwi Committee - 10% more kiwi this season

The quality progression in a bigger amount of fruit Cat 1 in the orchards is due to favorable weather in spring, a better pollination and a joint effort from producers and technicians in improving the handling of orchards and better searches for a superior quality.

According to the information collected from the companies within the Kiwi Committee (Comité del Kiwi - CDK), it's estimated an amount between 195,000 and 200,000 tons, an increase close to 10% regarding the previous season, when the amount reached was 176,400 tons of Hayward.

According to Matías Kulczewski, chief of the Production Commission in CDK, this would be explained in part by the high fertility of buds, favoured by an Autumn with good low temperatures but without strong frosts, followed by a winter with high accumulation of cold hours, leading to a high floral differentiation.

Another important fact was that, unlike the previous season, the spring time came without any significant frosts, a situation helping a better bee activity during flowering, translated in a superior pollination.

The better fruit season is also explained, according to Kulczwewski, by the progress made in orchard handling techniques, work leaded by CDK and the Production Commission.

Although, Kulczewski is worried like the majority of Chilean farmers because of the shortage of working hands as, who since November, applied for the harvesting of cherry and blueberry.

In the end, he highlighted the achieving of a better quality kiwi as being a joint effort, despite the collaboration of the good weather in spring and flowering.

Source:Chilean Kiwi Committee