Portuguese kiwi production to double in 3 years

It appears that kiwis from France, Italy or Greece are fairly well known in Western Europe, but it is not the case with Portuguese kiwis.

"We export to several countries in Europe, but the prices we offer are not very competitive due to our high quality standards. Our kiwis are superior in quality to Italian kiwis, so our prices are consequently higher. Spain is our main market, where the quality of our kiwis is most appreciated," explains Vítor Araújo.

Vítor Araújo , Alexandra Gomes and Claudia at Fruit Attraction.

Spain appears to be the most accessible destination due to proximity, which facilitates transportation. "We export to Spain, our neighbour, with low logistical costs, but in any case, we also export to Canada by sea."

"Sunny weather has an impact on the fruit's quality, especially in the kiwi's sweetness, bringing kiwis with low sourness levels," he affirms.

The Portuguese kiwi harvest will begin this week, later than in Italy, "as we are waiting for brix levels to be higher" and it lasts until May, meaning the fruit stays in the market for half a year.



Greensun has recently added a new variety of Greek kiwi, the Sequelitis, which is also grown in Portugal besides the Gold and Hayward varieties. "In the future we also wish to incorporate the Erica variety," says Vítor.

Although our kiwi plantations are very young and only produce 20 tonnes, we estimate that our production will double in just 3 years, along with kiwi production in Portugal as a whole, which is now of 22,000 tonnes," states Vítor Araújo.