Kiwifruit close up

Mexican authorities are planning to put an end to the current 20 per cent tariff in place for imported kiwifruit from New Zealand, according to media reports.

Agriculture secretary Francisco Mayorga said recently that he remained optimistic the tariff would be scrapped as it faced little opposition in Mexico, due to the lack of domestic kiwifruit production, Radio New Zealand reported.

However, the Latin American country is in the process of searching out potential production areas across the Pacific coast, aided by technicians from New Zealand.

While the plans are still in their early stages, Mr Mayorga noted that strawberries and other fruit requiring similar cultivation conditions to kiwifruit had been thriving in Mexico's central Pacific states.