6.1.1 Kiwifruit industry profile

The kiwifruit industry is the biggest sector in New Zealand's horticulture industry. Today, 2,804 kiwifruit growers produce approximately 175 million trays for export from 14,512 productive hectares. In 2022/23 this was worth $3.777 billion in gross sales.

The Bay of Plenty is the focus of kiwifruit growing (principally Katikati, Te Puke, Tauranga, Ōpōtiki and Whakatāne), producing over 80% of the crop.

The New Zealand kiwifruit industry continues to recover from the devastating effects of a bacterial canker disease specific to kiwifruit, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (termed Psa). Psa was detected in New Zealand in November 2010, and rapidly caused widespread and severe impacts to New Zealand's kiwifruit industry. It is now well managed year-round through monitoring, canopy management, spray protectant use, hygiene and movement controls. Psa is also present in other countries including Italy, Japan, South Korea, Chile and, most recently, Australia. There is no current cure for the disease.

The New Zealand kiwifruit industry’s ‘Hayward’ variety (‘green’ kiwifruit) is relatively tolerant to the disease, and new varieties are being developed.

Gold cultivar. There are 7,486 productive hectares of the conventional gold kiwifruit cultivar, commonly known as Gold3 or SunGold, licensed in New Zealand. These produced 97.3 million trays in 2022/23. The cultivar was fast-tracked to commercial launch in response to the identification of Psa in 2010, and is a cornerstone in the Psa recovery pathway and the major driver of the kiwifruit industry’s expansion. SunGold’s market performance has been very strong, and as a result Zespri released an additional 400 hectares of licence in 2016, 400 hectares in 2017 and 750 hectares in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In 2021, Zespri released licences for 700 hectares of SunGold and 50 hectares of Organic SunGold. A further 350, 350 and 250 hectares of Organic SunGold were released in 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

Red cultivar. In 2020, 150 hectares of licences for the red cultivar Red19 were released to New Zealand growers. The new cultivar is subject to provisional plant variety rights (PVR) protection in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world. Based on the current expected market demand of 15 million trays in Asia during the current supply window for Red19, Zespri planned to license 1,500 hectares between 2020 and 2023: 150 hectares of RubyRed licences were released in 2021, followed by 350 and 150 hectares in 2022 and 2023. No licences were released in 2024.

Table 6.1.1: Kiwifruit industry statistics

Season (to 31 March)	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23
Trays submitted (million)	97.69	97.8	123.4	148.9	125.8	157.7	150	161	184	175
Trays sold (million)	95.1	95.2	117.0	137.7	123.2	148.8	145.2	158	175	159
Yield (trays/ha)	8,684	8,076	10,157	11,838	9,913	12,373	11,650	11,804	13,007	12,080
Planting (ha)	11,250	11,233	12,185	12,578	12,692	12,747	12,905	13,334	13,610	14,512
Growers	2,556	2,540	2,516	2,435	2,405	2,756	2,792	2,813	2,843	2,804
Pack-houses	54	50	51	50	47	44	44	41	38	39
Coolstores	68	62	64	73	67	64	63	59	65	60

 

Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) – Te Hauora Huakiwi. KVH is the dedicated biosecurity organisation focussed on supporting the New Zealand kiwifruit industry (Chief Executive Leanne Stewart,  https://kvh.org.nz/). Established in 2010, KVH was initially mandated to lead the industry response to the Psa incursion and has since evolved to manage wider biosecurity readiness and response, manage risk across industry pathways and most recently undertake emergency response management activities to minimise impact to kiwifruit growers when disasters occur. With a vision of 'A biosecurity resilient kiwifruit industry - He ahumahi huakiwi koiora tokatu', KVH’s four strategic priorities are a commitment to biosecurity excellence, readiness and response, pathway management and biosecurity innovation.

Zespri. As a result of the Kiwifruit Industry Restructuring Act 1999, Zespri Group Ltd is a single-desk exporter of kiwifruit to countries other than Australia. Zespri Group Ltd (Chief Executive Jason Te Brake, www.Zespri.com) is a private company owned by current and past New Zealand kiwifruit growers, employing around 600 people.

Kiwifruit to Australia Product Group.  Kiwifruit exported to Australia are a prescribed product under the New Zealand Horticulture Export Authority Act. The New Zealand Kiwifruit to Australia Product Group Manager is Neil McLoughlin. The nine HEA-licensed exporters to Australia are represented by Kiwifruit Exporters to Australia (KETA).

Kiwifruit New Zealand (KNZ).  KNZ is the industry regulator charged with applying the Kiwifruit Export Regulations 1999. Kiwifruit can be exported to countries other than Australia in collaboration with Zespri, by applying to KNZ for a collaborative marketing programme. In 2023-2024, 15 companies operated 24 collaborative marketing sales programmes with Zespri, exporting just over 3.1 million trays of kiwifruit from New Zealand to markets other than Australia.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc. (NZKGI). The interests of growers are represented by NZKGI. NZKGI’s vision is ’innovative leadership - succeeding through change’. Its mission is to advocate, protect and enhance the commercial and political interests of New Zealand kiwifruit growers. NZKGI activities are led through strategic objectives in the areas of communication, labour and education, external relations, industry stability, performance and organisational management. 

 

6.1.2 Kiwiberry industry profile

The kiwiberry (Actinidia arguta) is a species within the genus Actinidia (to which kiwifruit also belongs). The main plantings are in the Bay of Plenty, with smaller plantings in Nelson and Gisborne. Harvesting of kiwiberries occurs from early February to mid-April. In 2024, total production was 190 tonnes from 18 hectares of vines.

Exports of kiwiberries are regulated under the Kiwifruit Export Regulations, and by the Horticulture Export Authority for exports to Australia. New Zealand KiwiBerry Growers is the industry body representing the interests of kiwiberry growers, and is a product group affiliated to Horticulture New Zealand.

New Zealand kiwiberries are currently exported to 12 countries.

 

6.1.3 Exports

Kiwifruit. Kiwifruit continues to be New Zealand’s largest single horticultural export by volume and value. Exports were valued at $2.85 billion in 2024, representing a 2% decrease in value from 2022, on a 15% decrease in volume during this period. Over this period the value of exports recovered from a 13% decrease in value in 2023, mainly due to poor pollination, and weather impacts such as wind, hail and the impact of adverse weather events affecting yield. The average value for kiwifruit increased by 15% from $3,810/tonne in 2022 to $4,375/tonne in 2024.

There were fluctuations in value across most major markets. From 2022 to 2024, the EU and China markets decreased in value by 9% and 2% respectively, with exports to these markets both valued close to $730 million. Exports to Japan experienced a 13% decrease to $488 million, and follows a 16% decrease to $563 million between 2020 to 2022. However, exports to South Korea and the United States experienced 12% and 23% increases, respectively.

In 2024, the top three markets, EU, China and Japan, account for 68% of export volume, while the top ten countries contribute to 95% of the total export value. The UK is not listed as a market as kiwifruit is shipped to three ports in the EU (Belgium, Spain, Italy) and then distributed to other EU member countries, and to the UK. Figures obtained from Zespri indicate that exports into the UK were valued at approximately $0.9 million in 2024 (YTD, October).    

Table 6.1.2: Kiwifruit (0810.50.00) export markets 2022-2024 (year ending June, tonnes, $NZ FOB)

Market	2022		2023		2024
	Volume	Value	Volume	Value	Volume	Value
European Union	272,873	801,424,954	179,745	521,964,919	212,583	733,261,802
China	148,401	736,047,770	122,640	664,021,331	140,018	724,214,291
Japan	133,654	562,883,973	122,774	533,795,263	111,394	488,369,582
South Korea	48,847	208,205,417	44,810	213,142,075	48,692	233,650,552
United States of America	46,710	165,017,498	41,125	162,745,601	43,272	203,044,319
Taiwan	32,422	141,406,712	31,259	157,580,430	25,949	138,631,207
Australia	23,212	65,396,189	19,113	65,448,658	21,240	77,644,112
Hong Kong	7,334	37,498,207	6,947	42,383,714	8,559	55,829,495
Canada	8,157	30,767,175	7,302	33,445,964	7,146	35,027,528
Viet Nam	5,597	26,017,282	5,846	32,259,892	5,086	29,974,086
Singapore	3,932	23,528,064	3,928	28,261,842	3,506	28,814,989
Indonesia	2,893	12,119,559	3,184	14,855,182	2,750	14,232,385
Malaysia	3,446	14,199,140	3,335	15,778,297	2,735	13,950,289
Brazil	3,575	10,173,477	3,298	10,888,995	3,780	13,821,095
India	6,743	21,190,682	2,314	7,616,148	3,487	12,962,508
Mexico	1,970	6,279,695	1,461	5,325,212	2,007	8,278,067
Thailand	3,206	11,481,638	1,983	7,471,880	1,658	6,887,229
United Arab Emirates	1,627	6,088,904	1,119	4,819,494	1,393	6,795,022
Saudi Arabia	1,838	6,757,471	1,071	4,615,288	1,515	6,769,016
Philippines	1,329	4,434,566	1,143	4,035,487	1,413	5,326,602
Israel	1,507	5,204,375	871	3,451,676	1,036	4,529,114
South Africa	1,400	3,497,314	856	2,264,919	1,220	3,750,000
Reunion	490	1,713,757	384	1,406,640	389	1,654,974
Mauritius	404	1,374,179	323	1,138,816	350	1,449,577
Bahrain	272	948,427	203	806,836	252	1,163,822
Kuwait	213	822,199	231	999,944	218	1,040,414
New Caledonia	288	999,247	242	894,192	249	967,893
French Polynesia	205	769,390	165	695,931	187	817,563
Qatar	0	0	0	0	139	687,061
Costa Rica	108	305,528	207	653,876	142	537,810
Pacific Islands	40	143,082	60	242,152	91	441,060
Guatemala	110	254,668	102	340,274	72	261,347
Fiji	46	154,375	38	141,171	62	254,507
El Salvador	77	186,409	100	280,617	66	240,046
Panama	49	165,790	37	151,874	37	183,192
Kenya	0	0	0	0	22	51,649
Papua New Guinea	1	4,010	1	5,209	3	9,638
Russia	1,042	3,806,362	0	0	0	0
Antarctica	0	160	0	0	0	0
Total	764,020	$2,911,267,645	608,216	$2,543,929,799	652,718	$2,855,523,843
% change (Yr/Yr)	7%	8%	-20%	-13%	7%	12%

 

Kiwiberry. Exports of kiwiberry increased 8% to $4.5 million in 2024. Exports to the USA increased 4.4-fold to $2.1 million on a 2.4-fold increase in volume. Exports to Australia decreased 4% in value on a 21% decrease in volume. The USA and Australian markets represent 47% and 24% of total market value, respectively. The average value for kiwiberries was $19,764/tonne in 2024, a 23% increase from $16,045/tonne in 2022.

Table 6.1.3: Kiwiberry (0810.90.00.55) export markets 2022-2024(year ending June, tonnes, $NZ FOB)

Market	2022		2023		2024
	Volume	Value	Volume	Value	Volume	Value
United States of America	41	472,780	61	1,211,582	97	2,096,911
Australia	77	1,124,224	67	1,231,450	61	1,076,331
Japan	82	1,472,636	50	905,208	38	698,520
Taiwan	42	799,151	28	560,450	20	411,571
Indonesia	4	68,496	4	63,896	3	66,761
Singapore	5	70,561	4	63,684	3	49,566
Thailand	3	55,415	2	45,712	2	35,030
Malaysia	1	7,460	2	26,571	1	19,851
Hong Kong	1	22,846	6	106,960	1	19,034
United Arab Emirates	0	0	0	0	1	12,804
South Korea	2	36,603	1	17,716	0	0
Viet Nam	0.48	9,472	0	6,047	0	0
European Union	0	0	0	4,797	0	0
Total	258	$4,139,644	225	$4,244,073	227	$4,486,379
% change (Yr/Yr)	-19%	-13%	-13%	3%	1%	6%

 

6.1.4 Barriers to export

Cost of tariffs

Kiwifruit. There are no tariffs on kiwifruit to most markets, with two key exceptions being the EU and India. With the New Zealand-EU FTA entering into force on 1 May 2024, this tariff has been eliminated. The EU tariff of 8 to 8.8% was one of the higher single tariffs for exports to the EU. In this report, the estimated cost of tariffs to the EU has been calculated for the period 1 July 2023 to 30 April 2024. For kiwifruit, this resulted in a tariff of $37.4 million. For the reporting period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, there was a saving of $24.5 million for fruit exported in the remaining two months, when 40% by value was exported to the EU. For more information on EU tariffs, refer to Chapter 7.6.

India’s tariff of 30% cost $3.9 million on 0.5% of the FOB value, and 0.5% of volume. This is the highest tariff imposed by any market on New Zealand kiwifruit. FTA negotiations with India commenced in 2010 however the timeframe for completion is not clear.

Under the CPTPP, the tariff into Japan has been eliminated, and the tariff into South Korea was phased out in 2020 under the New Zealand-Korea FTA. Under the New Zealand-China FTA the kiwifruit tariff has been zero since 2016. For the 2,804 kiwifruit growers, the $41.4 million estimated cost of tariffs equates to $14,768 per grower, compared to $24,900 in 2022.

Table 6.1.4: Cost of kiwifruit tariffs (based on 2024 FOB value)

Country	Tariff rate	Value	Estimated cost of tariff ($)
European Union 1	8-8.8%	733,261,802	37,407,221
China	0%	724,214,291	0
Japan	0%	488,369,582	0
South Korea	0%	233,650,552	0
United States of America	0%	203,044,319	0
Taiwan	0%	138,631,207	0
Australia	0%	77,644,112	0
Hong Kong	0%	55,829,495	0
Canada	0%	35,027,528	0
Viet Nam	0%	29,974,086	0
Singapore	0%	28,814,989	0
Indonesia	0%	14,232,385	0
Malaysia	0%	13,950,289	0
Brazil	0%	13,821,095	0
India	30%	12,962,508	3,888,752
Mexico	0%	8,278,067	0
Thailand	0%	6,887,229	0
United Arab Emirates	0%	6,795,022	0
Saudi Arabia	0%	6,769,016	0
Philippines	0%	5,326,602	0
Kuwait	0%	1,040,414	0
New Caledonia	5%	967,893	48,395
French Polynesia	8%	817,563	65,405
Fiji	0%	254,507	0
Papua New Guinea	0%	9,638	0
Total	1.5%	$2,840,574,191	$41,409,773

¹ Estimated cost of tariffs to the EU is calculated for the period 1 July 2023 to 30 April 2024.

See Chapter 7.6 European Union for more details.

 

Chile is a competing Southern Hemisphere supplier and had negotiated free trade agreements with twelve countries including China, South Korea, Japan, the USA, Mexico, MERCOSUR countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay), and the EU. Concerns that the trade advantage enjoyed by Chile would reduce prices in these markets and make it more difficult for New Zealand to compete have been alleviated with the entry into force of the New Zealand-EU FTA which will significantly reduce barriers for New Zealand trade. Chile also wants to double kiwifruit export to India within the next 2 to 3 years.

 

Kiwiberry. The USA imports 47% of kiwiberries by value, however the 2.2% tariff was responsible for all of the tariffs on kiwiberry exports. 

Table 6.1.5: Cost of kiwiberry tariffs (based on 2024 FOB value)

Country	Tariff rate	Value	Estimated cost of tariff ($)
United States of America	2.2%	2,096,911	46,132
Australia	0%	1,076,331	0
Japan	0%	698,520	0
Taiwan	0%	411,571	0
Indonesia	0%	66,761	0
Singapore	0%	49,566	0
Thailand	0%	35,030	0
Malaysia	0%	19,851	0
Hong Kong	0%	19,034	0
United Arab Emirates	0%	12,804	0
Total	1.0%	$  4,486,379	$46,132

 

SPS market access barriers - kiwifruit

Kiwifruit can be exported to around 60 countries, generally with very few phytosanitary barriers. 

Australia. Kiwifruit is imported into Australia under the Compliance-Based Intervention Scheme (CBIS), which is explained in detail in Section 7.8.3. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is concerned at an apparent high rate of non-compliance at on-arrival inspection of kiwifruit (and other crops). The industry is working with MPI and other sectors to understand and resolve the reasons for interceptions, and interception rates have reduced in recent seasons.  However, many intercepted organisms are not identified to a level where they can be categorised as non-actionable, and are actionable by default.

China. A new Export Plan and Official Assurance Programme is now in place for kiwifruit to China. Access was previously based on historic trade, with no formal analysis of risk, and China has completed a Pest Risk Analysis that will bring trade into line with new import protocols that China has developed for other crops.

Colombia. A potential new market. It was clarified in May 2017 that fresh kiwifruit did not have access without a pest risk analysis being completed. A technical information package was provided, Colombia completed a Pest Risk Analysis, and a proposed Export Plan is now being reviewed.

European Union. Some EU member states require wet signatures on phytosanitary certificates, so the clearance process still remains very much paper-based.

Indonesia. Uncertain market for all fresh fruit and vegetables because of the Indonesian regulatory system. Kiwifruit is not subject to the same restrictions as other fruit and vegetable exports. However, new import licensing requirements have been introduced that may further complicate access to Indonesia. The country recognition agreement (CRA) of New Zealand has been renewed in 2024. Explanation on CRA is provided in Section 7.20.3.

Japan. Unnecessary on arrival fumigation often occurs. A system of listing non-quarantine pests means that if a pest occurs in Japan but is not on that list, it is still considered to be a quarantine pest. MPI has successfully negotiated expansion of the non-quarantine pest list, but fumigation of non-quarantine pests still occurs.

Peru. A potential market. A market access package was submitted to Peru in 2017/18 to support a new access request, and discussions are being held on proposed phytosanitary measures.

Philippines. Access continues but is restricted.  In 2019 Philippine authorities reduced the validity of import permits from 60 days to only 20 days. This is not aligned with the industry’s supply chain order lead times and is interpreted as a technical barrier to trade.

South Korea. Regulations on residue testing upon arrival are significant. These are exacerbated by frequent MRL revisions, which mean each supplier or post-harvest operator needs to be re-tested with each change.

 

Labelling. There are international guidelines for labelling, but Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Viet Nam all require additional labelling to be applied before export.

 

SPS market access barriers - kiwiberry

China. In 2016 China prohibited the importation of kiwiberry.  This followed China’s review of the crops permitted entry to China and listing these by the scientific names of the commodities.  Kiwiberry had previously been classed as 'kiwifruit' because of its inclusion in the Actinidia genus and had entered on this basis for several years.  However, in the review China considered that Actinidia arguta was not part of the kiwifruit group, and kiwiberry was excluded from the list of permitted crops. 

NZ Kiwiberry Growers Inc and MPI have been working to reinstate trade.  China has completed its risk assessment and an Official Assurance Programme is being developed to implement China’s requirements.  This work is nearing completion and trade is anticipated to recommence in 2025.