Red kiwifruit are being developed by Bay scientists in one of the billion-dollar industry's most dramatic developments.
In a national first, development of the red-fleshed fruit comes five years after the golden variety was introduced.
Two hundred trays of the colourful kiwifruit were produced by Mount Maunganui-based international giant Zespri this year
for research purposes but have not been made available for sale to the public.
Zespri is also considering a new sweet green kiwifruit.
The firm says both prototypes are years away from being available in shops.
"They are two options we are looking at, or measuring in terms of potential in the market and their ability to grow commercially. There is quite a range of potential varieties but our focus is on those two," chief executive Tim Goodacre told the Bay of Plenty Times.
Zespri aims to produce an assortment of kiwifruit, catering to a wide range of palates.
"The objective is to continue the variety already in the New Zealand industry. "We want to ensure that when our customers go shopping for kiwifruit, we provide them with a full range of options," Mr Goodacre said.
Zespri has an exclusive agreement with New Zealand's largest horticulture and food research firm - Te Puke-based HortResearch - to investigate the potential benefits of a range of different varieties. The red and sweet green models are favoured.
There are more than 50 different types of kiwifruit worldwide and red varieties can already be found in some Asian countries.
And the question on everybody's mind will be - just how did they make a red kiwifruit?
The answer is not simple.
New species of kiwifruit are developed by singling out key genes and cross-breeding them until you reach the desired fruit.
But it was achieved after a lengthy, complex process, warned HortResearch chief executive Paul McGilvray.
"Basically you are trying to enhance some things and suppress others and so on," he said.
Factors such as maturity time, susceptibility to disease, sweetness, taste, flavour, size and colour had to be taken into account, Mr McGilvray said.
"The Rolls Royce is not just an engine, if you know what I mean. And there's no point in having a purple kiwifruit if it tastes like crap."
Characteristics such as size and taste of the red and sweet green varieties are yet to be decided but both would be sweeter than the traditional green hayward kiwifruit, Mr McGilvray said.
He said the golden variety was particularly popular in Asian countries - a major market for New Zealand exporters - where sweet flavours were favoured.
But until Zespri determined exactly what the market wanted, HortResearch would continue to explore a variety of options.
"We don't want to block off possibilities. Once Zespri has set the target, then horticultural researchers go after that target."
It was dangerous to focus solely on one or two types, Mr McGilvray said.
"The golden kiwifruit is a very good example of that. It was discovered some years ago but took a long time for people to realise what we had."
The golden variety represented 15 million of 75 million trays of kiwifruit produced by Zespri last year.
This accounted for $250 million of a record $1 billion revenue for the year. Mr Goodacre was in no doubt the red kiwifruit would be a hit and result in financial gain for the industry but he could not say when they would be readily available.
Red kiwifruit are being developed by Bay scientists in one of the billion-dollar industry's most dramatic developments.
In a national first, development of the red-fleshed fruit comes five years after the golden variety was introduced.
Two hundred trays of the colourful kiwifruit were produced by Mount Maunganui-based international giant Zespri this year
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