Sizes on Gold are also smaller which means that this season's crop may not achieve the target of 11million cartons.

Zespri's UK and Ireland manager Lorraine Kirby said: 'Gold is still quite a new fruit and we are still learning what makes sizes larger or smaller.' She indicated that a cooler summer this season in New Zealand is likely to have had an effect on sizing.

And Stefan van Rompaey of Zespri's Antwerp office added that a lack of water during the growing period may also have taken its toll. 'Less water than required can make fruit sizes small,' he said. 'But on the positive side, it means that the taste is better and more concentrated.' He expects sendings to Europe to show a 10 per cent decline on early-season forecasts.

The UK tends to favour a slightly smaller size than continental European markets and so is not expected to suffer from insufficient volumes.

Meanwhile, shipping figures from Zespri reveal volumes exported early in the season are up on the previous two years.

Figures are equal to those of 1999, and figures for the period up to May 5 are 30 per cent up on 2001 figures.

Also by May 5, 9.7 million trays of class 1 kiwifruit had been shipped meaning the fruit was available in most cases.

Early season Gold kiwifruit has been in high demand, and supply has come early from Zespri's alternative suppliers.

Zespri's international shipping partners have performed well in supplying additional shipping capacity, often at short notice, which is a contributing factor to the boost to these figures.

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