Kiwifruit or kiwi is a major horticultural export earner for New Zealand. New Zealand developed the first commercially viable kiwifruit and developed export markets, creating the demand for the fruit that exists today. Today New Zealand is the third largest kiwifruit producing country, next to China and Italy, [1] and holds approximately 30% of the market share. In the 2008–2009 season the value of New Zealand kiwifruit exports was NZ$1.45 billion. [2]
Cultivation of the fuzzy kiwifruit spread from China in the early 20th century, when seeds were introduced to New Zealand by Mary Isabel Fraser, the principal of Whanganui Girls' College who had been visiting mission schools in Yichang, China. [3] The seeds were planted in 1906 by a Whanganui nurseryman, Alexander Allison, with the vines first fruiting in 1910. A New Zealand horticulturalist developed the well-known green kiwifruit in Avondale, New Zealand, around 1924. This well known green kiwifruit were later renamed "Hayward" as a tribute to its creator, Hayward Wright. [4]
The first commercial planting of Chinese gooseberries occurred in 1937 by the orchardist Jim MacLoughlin. He found that the vines were low maintenance and fruited well. By 1940, MacLoughlin purchased more property for Chinese gooseberry production. MacLoughlin's truck was commandeered for army use during the outbreak of war and as a result, he was forced to sell his property and enter into a shared cropping arrangement with another farmer. In 1955, MacLoughlin bought out his partner, purchasing his land back along with an additional 38 acres and planting it all to Chinese gooseberries. During the war around 550 cases of the fruit were marketed each season with the fruit proving popular with American servicemen in New Zealand. This provided the opportunity for the previously domestically-consumed fruit industry to expand by exporting to an international market.
In 1952, MacLoughlin approached the New Zealand Fruit Federation who agreed to facilitate the shipping and marketing of the fruit to United States markets, this was New Zealand's first export of Chinese gooseberries. [5] Due to pioneering research into the transportability of the fruit by John Pilkington Hudson and others at the agriculture department in Wellington, this was the first international export of the kiwifruit. [6]
As the local popularity of this fruit increased, New Zealanders discarded the local Chinese name for the fruit (yáng táo [lower-alpha 1] ) [8] in favour of the name Chinese gooseberry. [9] Among the exporters was the prominent produce company Turners and Growers, who were calling the berries melonettes, because the local name for the fruit, Chinese gooseberry, had political connotations due to the Cold War, and to further distinguish it from European gooseberries, which are prone to a fungus called anthracnose. An American importer, Norman Sondag of San Francisco, complained that melonettes was as bad as Chinese gooseberry because melons and berries were both subject to high import tariffs, and instead asked for a short Māori name that quickly connoted New Zealand. [9] In June 1959, during a meeting of Turners and Growers management in Auckland, Jack Turner suggested the name kiwifruit after its furry brown appearance similar to the country's endemic flightless bird kiwi ; [10] this was adopted and later became the industry-wide name. [11] In the 1960s and 1970s, Frieda Caplan, founder of Los Alamitos-based Frieda's Inc., played a key role in popularising kiwifruit in the United States, convincing supermarket produce managers to carry the odd-looking fruit. [12]
The growth of the export market during this time was composed of individual growers, grower cooperatives, exporters and distributors. An attempt to develop a joint marketing effort saw the establishment of the Kiwifruit Export Promotion Committee in 1970, followed by the Kiwifruit Marketing Licensing Authority in 1977. The Kiwifruit Marketing Licensing Authority had the rights to establish market standards such as fruit size, quality and packaging of kiwifruit for export markets, the Authority also acted as an adviser to the government. This gave growers some control of licensing exporters. [2]
The total volume of kiwifruit exports rapidly increased from the late 1960s to early 1970s. During this time, the number or exporting firms also dramatically increased. By 1976, the total volume of fruit New Zealand produced had exceeded the volume domestically consumed. [13]
In 1974, kiwifruit was added to the consumer price index (CPI) basket. [14]
In the 1980s other countries began to export kiwifruit, and New Zealand lost its first-mover advantage. The seven licensed exporters in New Zealand were in fierce competition, driving down prices. This reduced grower profitability and caused fluctuations in both supply and demand.
In the 1990s, the export arrangement was reorganised in response to pressure from increasing fruit supplies from competing overseas export markets. To regain profitability and stability, the New Zealand Government and growers colluded to establish a single-desk export arrangement. This granted a monopoly on the marketing of kiwifruit to Zespri and mandated that all suppliers sell their products through this single buyer (see also monopsony) for all exports outside of Australasia.
All New Zealand kiwifruits are marketed under the brand-name label Zespri. The branding move is also intended to distinguish New Zealand kiwifruit from other fruit and prevent other companies from gaining benefit from the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board's (a subsidiary of Zespri) activities.
Zespri International Ltd. is owned by 2,700 local growers through Zespri Group Ltd which was established in 2000. [2] Zespri has the role of promoting and selling kiwifruit in overseas markets as well as establishing regulations on which kiwifruit can be sold in the export markets. [2]
Turners & Growers began to challenge Zespri's export monopoly of New Zealand's kiwifruit industry in 2009 to gain the right to export their own kiwifruit varieties without using Zespri. However, in October 2011 the case was dropped in response to pressures from a new bacterial disease causing devastating losses in kiwifruit. [15]
In November 2010, plant symptoms were discovered that suggested that Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (PSA), a variant of the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae , were present in a Bay of Plenty kiwifruit orchard in the North Island. [16] Provisions of the Biosecurity Act 1993 have been used to limit its spread. These measures were continued in 2011, but were largely unsuccessful with most orchards in the Bay of Plenty displaying some level of infection by November 2011. Some of the attacks in the Bay of Plenty were by the virulent strain PSA-V. The disease is worldwide, with serious attacks in Italy and France also in 2011. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
In mid-2013 a China-based Zespri subsidiary was fined nearly $1M for under-declaring customs duties, and the Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation into Zespri itself in October 2013. [22]
Much of the breeding to refine the green kiwifruit and develop the gold Zespri was done by the Plant & Food Research Institute (formerly HortResearch) during the decades of 1970–1999. [23]
In 1990, the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board opened an office for Europe in Antwerp, Belgium, which became the headquarters for European marketing of Zespri gold kiwifruit in 2010. [23] The general name, "Zespri", has been used for marketing of all green and gold cultivars of kiwifruit from New Zealand since 2012. [23] [24]
In 2017, New Zealand growers were acquiring additional land to grow Zespri gold kiwifruit under rising costs for a Zespri license to meet global demand for the gold cultivar. [25]
In mid-February 2020, the New Zealand Government agreed to pay NZ$40 million to 212 kiwifruit orchardists and Te Puke –based post harvest operator Seeka to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the government was liable for losses caused by the incursion of Pseudomonas , which swept through the Bay of Plenty region in 2010. Kiwifruit orchardists had initially challenged a Court of Appeal ruling that the Government could not be held liable for the damage caused by the pathogen despite the Ministry of Primary Industries allowing the bacteria into the country through the import of kiwifruit pollen from China. As a result of the settlement, the appeal was withdrawn. [26] [27]
The kiwifruit vine has become an invasive plant species in the Bay of Plenty Region due initially to the dumping of fruit next to bush remnants. [28] The Department of Conservation, responsible for protecting public land, classify Actinidia deliciosa as an environmental weed. [29]
Kiwifruit or Chinese gooseberry, or yangtao, is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus Actinidia. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit is oval, about the size of a large hen's egg: 5–8 centimetres in length and 4.5–5.5 cm in diameter. It has a thin, fuzzy, fibrous, tart but edible light brown skin and light green or golden flesh with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. The fruit has a soft texture with a sweet and unique flavour.
Actinidia is a genus of woody and, with a few exceptions, dioecious plants native to temperate eastern Asia, occurring throughout most of China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and extending north to southern areas of Russian Far East and south into Indochina. The genus includes shrubs growing to 6 metres tall, and vigorous, strong-growing vines, growing up to 30 m (100 ft) in tree canopies. They mostly tolerate temperatures down to around −15 °C (5 °F), and some are much hardier.
"Kiwi" is a common self-reference used by New Zealanders, though it is also used internationally. Unlike many demographic labels, its usage is not considered offensive; rather, it is generally viewed as a symbol of pride and affection for most people of New Zealand.
Kiwiana are certain items and icons from New Zealand's heritage, especially from around the middle of the 20th century, that are seen as representing iconic New Zealand elements. These "quirky things that contribute to a sense of nationhood" include both genuine cultural icons and kitsch.
Te Puke is a town located 18 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for the cultivation of Kiwifruit.
AsureQuality Limited is a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) fully owned by the government of New Zealand. The company's core business is food quality assurance with its services including certification, inspection, testing, and training. AsureQuality has over 1700 staff at over 100 locations throughout New Zealand. AsureQuality also has a joint venture partner, Bureau Veritas.. Bureau Veritas and AsureQuality have two joint ventures, BVAQ Australia and BVAQ SouthEast Asia.
Actinidia arguta, the hardy kiwi, is a perennial vine native to Japan, Korea, Northern China, and the Russian Far East. It produces a small kiwifruit without the hair-like fiber covering the outside, unlike most other species of the genus.
Actinidia deliciosa, the fuzzy kiwifruit, is a fruiting vine native to Southern China. Other species of Actinidia are also found in China and range east to Japan and north into southern areas of Russian Far East. This species grows naturally at altitudes between 600 and 2,000 metres.
Pseudomonas viridiflava is a fluorescent, Gram-negative, soil bacterium that is pathogenic to plants. It was originally isolated from the dwarf or runner bean, in Switzerland. Based on 16S rRNA analysis, P. viridiflava has been placed in the P. syringae group. Following ribotypical analysis misidentified strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. ribicola and Pseudomonas syringae pv. primulae were incorporated into this species. This pathogen causes bacterial blight of Kiwifruit.
Actinidia chinensis(Planch.), known commercially as the golden kiwifruit, is a fruiting vine, native to China. It is one of some 40 related species of the genus Actinidia, and closely related to Actinidia deliciosa, which is the source of the most common commercial kiwifruit. Fruit colour may vary from green to lime green or gold, depending on breeding.
In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector directly contributed $12.653 billion of the national GDP in the 12 months to September 2020, and employed 143,000 people, 5.9% of New Zealand's workforce, as of the 2018 census.
Beekeeping in New Zealand is reported to have commenced in 1839 with the importing of two skep hives by Mary Bumby, a missionary. It has since become an established industry as well a hobby activity.
Tauranga is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of 161,800, or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by Europeans in the early 19th century, and was constituted as a city in 1963.
Iran ranks 1st in fruit production in the Middle East and North Africa. Iran has been ranked between 8th and 10th in global fruit production in different years. Iran produces Persian walnut, melon, tangerine, citrus fruits, Kiwifruit, dates, cherries, pomegranates, peach, oranges, raisins, saffron, grapes, Apricot, Pitted Prune and watermelon.
Biosecurity in New Zealand guards against threats to agriculture and biodiversity, with strict border control measures being taken to prevent unwanted organisms from entering the country. New Zealand is an island nation that is geographically isolated from any other significant landmass. The species that are present evolved in the absence of organisms from elsewhere and display a high degree of endemism. Notable is the lack of land-based mammals, except for two species of bat. Indigenous species are at risk from population decline or extinction if any invasive species are introduced.
Frieda’s Inc. is a privately owned company, based in Los Alamitos, California, which markets and distributes specialty produce.
Zespri International Limited is the world's largest marketer of kiwifruit, selling in over 50 countries. Its international headquarters are in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. However, it has licensed growers in Italy, France, Japan, South Korea, Greece and Australia, with trials in place in several other countries. Kiwifruit from New Zealand is available from May to October. To satisfy year-round consumer demand, Zespri markets kiwifruit from Italy from November to January.
Frieda Rapoport Caplan was an American businesswoman who was the founder of Frieda's Inc., a specialty produce company in Los Alamitos, California. She created the specialty produce industry in the United States and revolutionized the fresh produce industry.
The gold kiwifruit or yellow kiwi is a variety of kiwifruit developed by the company Zespri International Ltd. The yellow kiwi is a different species but of the same genus as the green one.
Hill Labs is a privately-owned analytical laboratory in New Zealand, which provides testing services for the domestic and agricultural, environmental and food sectors.