Shoppers' sweet deal is not what it seems

Locally-grown kiwifruit is expected to go on sale at the end of the month. Photo / Babiche Martens

If you think you've been slicing sweet fresh New Zealand kiwifruit on your pavlova this summer, think again.

Stock on supermarket shelves for the past three months is more likely to have been grown in Italy - the world's biggest kiwifruit exporter - or be Kiwi-grown fruit picked at least nine months ago.

Even Zespri, the marketing brand for New Zealand growers, is growing fruit in Italy, France, USA, Chile, Japan and Korea.

Most is sold overseas, but some Italian Zespri Gold is sold here during summer.

Turners and Growers New Zealand marketing manager Alistair Petrie said bringing in foreign supplies is the only way to ensure supermarkets have a year-round supply.

New Zealand kiwifruit is picked in March and April and kept in coolstores for up to 10 months but Petrie said there's too much wastage if it's stored any longer.

"With the stuff they're pulling out of the coolrooms in November, they're throwing 10 to 20 per cent out."

Kiwifruit supplier Produce Partners brings in about 50,000kg of Italian fruit during the summer, said director Alan McMeiken.

"People have a funny perception that we're the home of kiwifruit and we shouldn't need to import any, but you can't keep fruit for 12 months and expect it to be perfect."

Geoff Oliver, from Te Puke's Kiwi Produce, said the Italian-grown fruits were picked at the perfect time to fill the gap in the market here.

"People get surprised and wonder what's going on, but the New Zealand crop just doesn't last until December."

No one from Zespri was available for interview, but a spokeswoman confirmed Italian Zespri Gold fruits were sold here and should be labelled in the shop. She said New Zealand-grown Zespri Gold being sold in some supermarkets is last year's harvest, which Oliver said was picked until the end of last May.

Last year more than 736,000kg of kiwifruit was imported from Italy and 23,100kg from California, with a combined value of almost $2 million.

In the same year 97 million trays of fruit, worth $779m, were exported, with more than 100 million trays forecasted to be exported this year.

Zespri sends most of our top quality produce to supply the premium market overseas, where it can fetch a higher price for growers.

The fruit is sold in more than 60 countries with the bulk going to Europe and Japan, and smaller amounts to Taiwan and South Korea.

Oliver said packing for this year's crop begins tomorrow.

Locally-grown kiwifruit should be on sale from the end of March until at least November.