Thursday last week, the first batches of Zespri's New Zealand kiwifruit for the 2017 season arrived in China. Earlier today, the first pallets have gone on sale in the Shanghai and Guangzhou import wholesale markets.
Zespri's Sungold kiwifruit variety is the main variety promoted in China. This year is the 5th year of large-scale cultivation, and first reports on overall quality are positive. It is expected that the quality of the fruit arriving later in the season will only improve.
This year, small batches of Zespri's green kiwifruit varieties will also be exported to China. The number is expected to be less than the 2016 exported crop. No new varieties will be introduced to the Chinese market this year.
Price-wise, compared to last year's first shipments, prices have slightly come down on the Shanghai market. Last year, trays were sold at 200 Yuan per tray (around €30 euros), this year sales have started off at 170 to 180 Yuan.
In Guangzhou, China's largest import market in the South of the country, the fruit is sold at 190 Yuan, also slightly below last year's prices, for size 22 fruits.
