It’s been a solid season for Greek kiwifruit in the Indian market, says Saurabh Tanwar of Indian fruit importer Fruitways: “The Greek kiwi has proven to be the most important origin for the Indian consumer. As per the data of April 2023, the Greek kiwi took the second place in terms of imported volumes, right after the New Zealand Zespri Kiwi, with the import of 350 metric tons of just Hayward kiwis.
"For Greece, India appeared to be the fastest growing market and Greek kiwi are more appreciated here compared to the Italian kiwis. The season of 2022/2023 is the most successful season Greece has ever seen in the Indian market. I believe, looking at this success, Greece will keep the focus on the Indian market for the next season as well. We’re playing a very important role in the strategy of Greek kiwi exporters.”
Tanwar believes that the reason the Greek kiwi was able to thrive in the Indian market, was the fact that the officials have intercepted way more kiwifruit from Iran, which is banned in India. “I believe Iran has failed its kiwifruit in the plant and quarantine tests, but this isn’t the only reason why Greek kiwis got more popular. The kiwis from Iran have been banned for the last two seasons, but many Indian importers were still smuggling the kiwifruit via misdeclaration into customs. These importers were taking their shipments via Dubai, for example. However, last season, drugs were caught in a South African orange shipment. After that, the Indian intelligence started intercepting Iranian kiwi shipments, which led to an opportunity for the Greek exporters to ship more of their kiwifruit to India.”
The Greek kiwi had to compete with Italian kiwi as well, but according to Tanwar both volumes and quality were better in Greece: “After the ban for Iranian kiwi imports came into force, India’s alternate options were Greece and Italy. Greece had the most successful season in terms of quality, and had the volumes that India requires. On top of that, prices were very reasonable. I believe that if Greece keeps up with its quality and stable prices to export to India, our market will never require Iranian kiwi in the future.”
Overall the import season of Greek kiwis was a success. “It was our first season importing the Greek kiwis to India. We’ve created a valuable partnership with Frueat from Greece and managed to import about 161 Containers to the Indian market. This success is not just about the volumes, but it’s a correct understanding and knowledge of the Indian market, to deliver the quality that the consumers in India require,” Tanwar concludes.
For more information:
Saurabh Tanwar
Fruitways
Tel: +56 9 8894 6256
Email: saurabh@fruitways.pl