Italian kiwifruit exporters are hopeful that new protocols for kiwifruit exports to China could be in place in time for the start of this coming season, enabling them to ramp up significantly the volume of product shipped to the Asian market. However, much will depend on the outcome of a technical seminar due to take place in the autumn, during which Chinese officials will verify whether or not Italian suppliers have met the necessary standards.
According to Daniela Lepidio of Italian kiwifruit company Agrilepidio, increasing cooperation between the Chinese authorities and Italy’s fresh produce sector should see the country send a greater volume of fresh fruit – including not only kiwifruit but potentially also apples, pears and citrus – to China during the next couple of years.
“I’m not sure if everything is quite ready in terms of the revised import regulations, but as a market it shows a lot of promise,” Ms Lepidio told Fruitnet.com.
Paolo Carissimo, managing partner of RK Marketing, part of leading Italian kiwifruit group Kiwi Uno, revealed his company had seen its volumes to China rise by 25 per cent over the past year thanks to programmes of direct and branded supply it has set up with major supermarkets via local import companies.
Last year, Chinese officials visited Agrilepidio and another leading Italian kiwifruit exporter, Apofruit Italia, on a fact-finding mission aimed at opening the market further. The officials were reportedly shown around the companies’ packhouse facilities, coldstorage units and production areas.
With the kiwifruit harvest in Lazio expected to be larger this year than in 2007, when volumes were down by around 35-40 per cent on the usual figure, exporters will be looking to markets like China, India and Singapore to offer greater demand for the larger-sized fruit typically favoured by Asian consumers.
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