Kiwifruit is one of New Zealand’s great export stories.
New Zealand has some of the best kiwifruit growing conditions in the world. Clean air, fertile soils, a cool ocean, generous climate, and relatively few pests and diseases, backed up by skilled growers all contribute to the unique quality and taste of New Zealand grown kiwifruit. These factors, in combination with the excellent work done by Zespri in branding, quality control, marketing and distribution has established New Zealand as the world’s leading kiwifruit exporter.
New Zealand’s kiwifruit exports are expected to top $3.4 billion in 20251 and Zespri has ambitious plans to continue to grow international demand. It expects volumes to reach 228 million trays by 20292 – that’s a 17% increase on the bumper 2024 harvest and a 71% increase on the 2023 harvest2.
The industry’s profit margins also rank amongst the highest in the primary sector. Exclusive ownership of the highly productive SunGold™ variety and global recognition of the Zespri brand as a symbol of superior quality are driving price premiums for New Zealand kiwifruit in key markets – driving high orchard gate returns.
This success has been underpinned by Zespri’s significant and ongoing investment in breeding new kiwifruit varieties and controlling their release through a plant variety rights (PVR) licensing system that provides added value to growers.
With higher-than-anticipated fruit prices confirmed for the record 2024 crop, the future looks bright for the New Zealand kiwifruit industry.
1 BERL and NZKGI - Robertson, N. (2023). Single Point of Entry for kiwifruit exporting: Impacts on the New Zealand kiwifruit industry. BERL. Retrieved from https://canopy.zespri.com
2 Zespri. (2024). Zespri Five-Year Outlook 2019 -2025. Retrieved from 5 Year Outlook - Zespri Publications
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