Zespri hits back on disease claims

The scale of the problem of a fungal disease affecting Zespri Chilean kiwifruit has been seriously over-egged, the company claims. Press reports had implied that the disease would lead to gaps in kiwifruit supply on key markets such as the UK. But a spokeswoman told FPJ: “Zespri Gold kiwifruit vines in Chile began to show signs of the effect from verticillium approximately six years ago and our production in Chile has continued to decline since. At its maximum production, Chile produced less than one per cent of Zespri’s total global Gold kiwifruit supply, today it is closer to 0.2 per cent and continues to decline.”