Kiwi is one of the trendiest products in the global fruit and vegetable trade; its consumption is growing rapidly. Over the past 5 years (2015-2019), global kiwi trade has grown by 7% or $ 217.9 million per year. This means that, in terms of the growth of global trade in fruits and berries, kiwis came after blueberries, avocados, cherries, raspberries, durians and mangoes.
Georgia is the only country in the region where kiwi is produced in relatively large volumes commercially. The first kiwi plantations also appear in Uzbekistan and even in the relatively cold Ukraine.
Georgia has recently started to produce kiwi, but it has more than 10 years of experience in cultivating this crop. According to Geostat data, Georgian kiwi production has grown by 50% and reached 1.500 tons over the past five years.
Kiwi in Georgia is mainly produced by small farmers on small areas – on average, each producer has less than one hectare of land. Georgian kiwi producers sell their harvest of at the local market, where both consumers and intermediaries buy it. The main problem of small-scale kiwi producers in Georgia is the lack of funds to expand production and install cold storage. Indeed, during their ripening period, their supply on the market rises sharply, and their prices drop, respectively.
Nergeta is one of the largest kiwi growers in Georgia, which owns about 30 hectares of kiwi orchards in the Samegrelo region (Western Georgia). This allows the company to guarantee volumes and quality in export markets – in the EU, where Georgian kiwi was introduced in the German Lidl chain and even in Japan.
According to information, Japan is the main sales market for Georgian kiwi – since 2016, about 70% of Georgian kiwi exports went to Japan, which confirms unique qualities of Georgian kiwis. After all, Japan is a country with the highest quality and safety requirements for products supplied to its market. In addition, Japanese consumers are willing to pay high prices for fruits with unique qualities. At the same time, Japan is the second largest world importer of kiwi, so Georgian exporters have set export priorities right as well. In the traditional sales market for Georgian fruits, Russia, the import of kiwi is decreasing, contrary to global trends.
