Kiwifruit suppliers in Italy will find plenty more room on export markets in Asia and the Middle East this year, according to one of the country's leading fruit exporters.
Luca Antonietti, president of Genoa-based group Novafruit, told Eurofruit he expected Italy to face significantly less competition overseas as a result of New Zealand's crop finishing early.
'Markets in general are fairly active both in Asia and the Far East, given that New Zealand product seems to be finishing a lot earlier this year,' he commented.
Trade sources indicated mid-September that this year's Italian kiwifruit crop was likely to be around 20-30 per cent lower than in 2011.
Antonietti confirmed he had heard similar forecasts, adding that growers in Piedmont – traditionally Italy's second-largest producer of kiwifruit after Lazio – were anticipating a major loss of production.
'At the moment, it's difficult to tell exactly where we are with kiwifruit,' he said. 'Certainly Piedmont has lost a lot of product – around 60 per cent for sure. The other areas – Veneto Emilia, Latina – should be alright, taking the total Italian volume to about 20-25 per cent less compared with last year's volume.'
Antonietti added that the quality of this year's crop was likely to be good in general. 'Quality in northern regions is very good with good sizing, form and colour,' he said. 'In Latina, there is a certain percentage of the crop which is inferior quality in terms of shape and size.'
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