Japan is expected to import a record volume of kiwi fruit in fiscal 2016, with shipments from New Zealand seen jumping 14% from the year before.
Zespri International (Japan), which has a monopoly on kiwi imports from New Zealand, announced Tuesday that it aims to import 24 million trays of the fruit this fiscal year. The company brought in a record 21 million trays in fiscal 2015. Most of Japan's kiwi imports come from New Zealand.
The company is planning a 54% boost in imports of Zespri SunGold, a relatively new variety known for its yellow flesh and sweet flavor, to 10.55 million trays. SunGold harvests are expected to reach an all-time high in 2016 on technological advances allowing better yields per unit area, according to Lain Jager, chief executive of New Zealand-based parent Zespri International.
The Japan arm plans to cut imports of the classic Zespri Green by 8% to 11.7 million trays.
The fruits will likely reach supermarkets in Tokyo around mid-April. Zespri Japan has announced plans to keep wholesale prices flat in a bid to expand consumption. Retail prices are also expected to remain near last fiscal year's levels at about 100 yen (90 cents) per fruit.
"The supply of other fruits has been unstable, so we have high hopes for kiwi," said a representative at supermarket chain operator Inageya.
Kiwi is also expected to account for a larger portion of fruit imports. Each tray of kiwi weighs 3.6kg, meaning Zespri Japan plans to import 86,000 tons of the fruit this fiscal year from New Zealand. The figure falls far short of the roughly 950,000 tons of bananas Japan imports every year, but is closing in on the annual 100,000 tons or so of imported grapefruit, and could top the just over 80,000 ton total for oranges. Weather conditions at banana and grapefruit producers have made shipments of those fruits more unpredictable.
