The California Kiwifruit Commission (CKC) has forecast a strong upcoming season for the industry, with a larger crop of excellent quality anticipated - in sharp contrast with the frost-hit crop of the previous campaign.
'Last year, California produced just 5.6m trays, but this year's crop is more in line with normal production levels of 6.5m 7lb-tray equivalents,' said CKC president Chris Zanobini. 'This year we are in very good shape with respect to both volume and quality.'
Kiwifruit grower and CKC chairman John Fagundes echoed these sentiments, saying: 'The fruit is coming off with really nice shape and its virtually blemish-free this season. The crop appears to be peaking at size 33, which is an excellent size for retail sales.'
Mr Zanobini added that November was expected to see good movement of the fruit because of its high quality, coupled with the fact that exports from New Zealand and Chile had largely disappeared from marketing channels this season.
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