Kiwifruit Hayward green on tree

Italy is expected to produce a 'significantly higher' volume of kiwifruit this season compared with last year, according to new figures published this week by Bonn-based analyst ZMP.

Total production for the 2008/09 season is forecast to reach 450,500 tonnes of fruit weighing 65g or more, according to the report, representing an increase of some 9 per cent on the previous campaign.

'As well as an inccrease in income from greater production, the increase is also set to contribute to higher yields,' commented a spokesperson for ZMP.

The report also suggested that Italy, already the world's largest commercial producer of kiwifruit, is poised for further expansion during the next couple of years, with volumes of the fruit expected to pass the half a million-tonne mark with the addition of an extra 50,000 tonnes by 2010.

Providing the necessary impetus for such growth will be an anticipated 10 per cent upturn in the surface area dedicated to kiwifruit production in Italy, said the group. Such a rise will bring total production area to 23,270ha.


'Despite a sharp rise in sales there should be no problem, thanks to steady growth in demand in Italy itself and in other countries, as well as on the export market,' continued the spokesperson.

In 2007, Italy exported some 334,000 tonnes of kiwifruit with a total value of around €284m.