Zespri sales hit $1 billion in Asia-Pacific despite lower kiwifruit offering

Zespri export volumes to the Asia-Pacific market in the 2024 season set to jump.

Zespri says sales of kiwifruit to the Asia-Pacific region have topped $1 billion this season, despite a smaller crop offering.

Last season total sales to the region earned $1.15b, but with more fruit sent there.

A much larger New Zealand crop in the 2024 season will mean a 28 per cent increase offered to the Asia-Pacific region with more than 55 million trays earmarked for this market, the global marketer said.

Zespri president of Asia Pacific Ichiro Anzai in an update to the company’s 2800 New Zealand growers said the region had closed the 2023 New Zealand growing season with more than 43 million trays sold.

That included 26.3 million in Japan, 10.3 million in Korea, and 6.5 million across “Asia-Pacific South” which included Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India.

The export volume was lower due to a string of extreme weather events in New Zealand.

“We’ve been focused on maximising value in-market and have seen strong pricing this season, particularly for green kiwifruit in Japan which is a market where we already see some of our highest green returns,” Anzai said.

“Japan was also the first market to open the Zespri RubyRed kiwifruit season and we’ve had lots of good feedback on red this year.

Anzai said teams were focused on moving fruit quickly through the season and finishing the season strongly, using the local industry’s efforts to address fruit quality issues which allowed market teams to rebuild trust with customers.

Strong marketing campaigns had underpinned the sales success across the Asia-Pacific region this season, Anzai said.

Campaigns had focused on the health and nutrition benefits of Zespri kiwifruit, with the Kiwi Brothers (Zespri mascots) rolled out in Malaysia, Indonesia, and for the first time, India.

Despite reduced consumer spending in the global slowdown, Zespri had, through campaigns, maintained strong brand leadership in the region’s markets, using high-reaching channels including TV and digital, and a strong in-store presence, Anzai said.

The much larger 2024 season volumes would come with challenges but were a great opportunity for growth in all Asia-Pacific markets, he said.

“Our priorities for next season will be around driving quality of distribution, maintaining strong pricing, continuing to build our iconic and premium brand and driving spend efficiencies.”

Zespri, a marketing cooperative owned by past and present growers, is the world’s single biggest exporter of kiwifruit. It has the statutory right to export all New Zealand kiwifruit except to Australia.

Zespri sold 183.5 million trays of New Zealand and non-New Zealand grown fruit in FY23. Global sales totalled $3.9b. The company’s total payment to New Zealand growers in FY23 was $2.24b.

Andrea Fox joined the Herald as a senior business journalist in 2018 and specialises in writing about the dairy industry, agribusiness, exporting and the logistics sector and supply chains.