The weather has not been kind to the organic green kiwifruit crop in Italy, as importers are seeing lower numbers coming from growing regions. Golden varieties, however, escaped the effects of the weather and have performed well.

"We bring our organic kiwifruit out of Italy to the East Coast," said Matthew Roberts, of Viva Tierra. "We began our imports this season a little over a month ago and will run into April/May. Its been a tough crop this year and numbers are down on the green Kiwifruit. Italy, and Europe in general, faced a cold Winter last year, as well as some frosts in the Spring, which affected the plants and pushed numbers down. The gold Kiwifruit were not as affected because they bloom at a different time to the green varieties. Numbers on the organic gold varieties are better than normal. The fruit is showing decent quality for both the green and gold Kiwis."

Steady demand bringing a good market
Despite the dro in volume, the market is pretty strong, thanks to steady demand and the reduced numbers, bringing prices up. The Italian season is still in its early stages and importers are waiting to fully determine how the season will play out in the long term. With quality high and a market ready for organic kiwifruit, there is still a positive outlook.

"There has been steady demand for organic kiwifruit as well as a strong domestic market in both Europe and the United States," Roberts continued. "General numbers are down but the season is just starting so we are hoping that the high quality, together with strong demand will mean the season enjoys a strong market. The Southern hemisphere season is wrapping up now. They had a very good season with a strong market and good numbers, so we are hoping for that to flow into our season."